Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk was hit with a class action lawsuit in New York federal court on Friday for allegedly misusing its patents to maintain a monopoly on its diabetes drug Victoza.
The complaint from South Carolina-based drug wholesaler Smith Drug accused Novo of using a "pay-for-delay" scheme with generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical to illegally delay cheaper generic versions of the drug.
A Novo spokesperson declined to comment on the complaint. A spokesperson and attorneys for Smith Drug did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for Teva, which is not a defendant in the lawsuit, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Victoza, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010, was Novo's first-generation blockbuster GLP-1 drug. The lawsuit said that Novo sold more than $5 billion worth of the drug in the United States in 2018, though its sales have since decreased.
Novo's second-generation GLP-1 drug Ozempic has helped make the company the most valuable in Europe.
Teva launched the first generic version of Victoza in 2024. According to the complaint, Novo unlawfully paid to delay Teva's entry into the generic market as part of a 2019 settlement of patent litigation between the companies.
The lawsuit said that generic Victoza would have been on the market in 2023 without Novo and Teva's agreement. Smith Drug asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages on behalf of a proposed class of Victoza purchasers.
The case is Smith Drug Co v. Novo Nordisk Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 1:26-cv-00420.
For Smith Drug: Garwin Gerstein & Fisher; Faruqi & Faruqi; Berger Montague; Silver Golub & Teitell; Odom & Des Roches; Heim Payne & Chorush; and Smith Segura Raphael & Leger
For Novo: attorney information not yet available.
The complaint from South Carolina-based drug wholesaler Smith Drug accused Novo of using a "pay-for-delay" scheme with generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical to illegally delay cheaper generic versions of the drug.
A Novo spokesperson declined to comment on the complaint. A spokesperson and attorneys for Smith Drug did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople for Teva, which is not a defendant in the lawsuit, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Victoza, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2010, was Novo's first-generation blockbuster GLP-1 drug. The lawsuit said that Novo sold more than $5 billion worth of the drug in the United States in 2018, though its sales have since decreased.
Novo's second-generation GLP-1 drug Ozempic has helped make the company the most valuable in Europe.
Teva launched the first generic version of Victoza in 2024. According to the complaint, Novo unlawfully paid to delay Teva's entry into the generic market as part of a 2019 settlement of patent litigation between the companies.
The lawsuit said that generic Victoza would have been on the market in 2023 without Novo and Teva's agreement. Smith Drug asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages on behalf of a proposed class of Victoza purchasers.
The case is Smith Drug Co v. Novo Nordisk Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 1:26-cv-00420.
For Smith Drug: Garwin Gerstein & Fisher; Faruqi & Faruqi; Berger Montague; Silver Golub & Teitell; Odom & Des Roches; Heim Payne & Chorush; and Smith Segura Raphael & Leger
For Novo: attorney information not yet available.