Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis secured a legal win on Thursday after London’s High Court rejected a bid by Accord Healthcare to invalidate the patent covering its blockbuster heart drug Entresto.
Accord Healthcare, a unit of India’s Intas Pharmaceuticals, had sought a ruling that the patent was invalid from the outset and planned to launch a generic version of the medicine later this year.
Judge Richard Meade dismissed all challenges, ruling that the patent was valid while in force, that Novartis’ supplementary protection certificate (SPC) remained valid, and that Accord’s intended product would infringe the company’s intellectual property rights. “All the attacks on the patent fail,” the judge said.
Entresto, used to treat heart failure and also indicated for hypertension, accounts for roughly 10% of Novartis’ overall sales. The company’s European patent for the drug expired in 2023, but the SPC extends protection until 2028. The ruling offers Novartis a boost as it navigates a series of patent expiries across its portfolio.
The decision follows a similar outcome in the Netherlands, where the patent was also upheld. Novartis suffered a setback in the United States last year after failing to block the launch of a generic version of Entresto.
Neither Novartis nor Accord Healthcare immediately responded to requests for comment on the UK judgment.
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