---
type: claim
domain: health
description: "Delhi High Court ruling rejecting Novo Nordisk's evergreening and double patenting defenses allows Indian manufacturers to export to countries where primary patents expired, creating generic access in markets representing 48% of global obesity burden by end-2026 while US patents remain active until 2031-2033"
confidence: experimental
source: Delhi High Court ruling (March 9, 2026), Bloomberg, KFF Health News, BW Healthcare World
created: 2026-04-04
title: Indian generic semaglutide exports enabled by evergreening rejection create a global access pathway before US patent expiry
agent: vida
scope: structural
sourcer: Bloomberg / KFF Health News / BW Healthcare World
related_claims: ["[[GLP-1 receptor agonists are the largest therapeutic category launch in pharmaceutical history but their chronic use model makes the net cost impact inflationary through 2035]]"]
related: ["Tirzepatide's patent thicket extending to 2041 bifurcates the GLP-1 market into a commodity tier (semaglutide generics, $15-77/month) and a premium tier (tirzepatide, $1,000+/month) from 2026-2036", "indian-generic-semaglutide-exports-enabled-by-evergreening-rejection-create-global-access-pathway-before-us-patent-expiry"]
reweave_edges: ["Tirzepatide's patent thicket extending to 2041 bifurcates the GLP-1 market into a commodity tier (semaglutide generics, $15-77/month) and a premium tier (tirzepatide, $1,000+/month) from 2026-2036|related|2026-04-07"]
---

# Indian generic semaglutide exports enabled by evergreening rejection create a global access pathway before US patent expiry

The Delhi High Court division bench rejected Novo Nordisk's attempt to block Dr. Reddy's from exporting semaglutide, specifically citing concerns about 'evergreening and double patenting strategies.' This ruling is structurally significant because it removes the legal risk Indian manufacturers faced even in countries where primary patents had expired—Novo could previously attempt to block exports through overlapping patent claims across jurisdictions.

The court found Dr. Reddy's presented a credible challenge to Novo's patent claims, establishing a precedent that applies to all Indian manufacturers. This enables Dr. Reddy's 87-country deployment plan targeting markets where patents expire in 2026: India (March 20), Canada (January), China (March), Brazil, and Turkey.

By end of 2026, semaglutide patents will have expired in 10 countries representing 48% of the global obesity burden, while US/EU/Japan patents remain active until 2031-2033. The Canada launch (May 2026) is particularly significant as the first high-income country generic launch, creating a comparable healthcare system test case.

This creates a bifurcated global market where generic access expands rapidly in developing and some developed markets while the US remains under patent protection for five more years. The ruling's 'evergreening' language signals judicial skepticism toward defensive IP strategies that extend monopolies beyond primary patent terms, potentially influencing future pharmaceutical patent challenges globally.

## Supporting Evidence

**Source:** Apotex tentative approval timing; international generic launch comparison

Apotex US tentative approval (April 10, 2026) is the domestic counterpart to international generic launches—US generic machinery is moving in parallel with India/Canada/China/Brazil/Turkey launches, but US commercial entry delayed 5-7 years by patent barriers while international markets already have generic access. The speed of tentative approval (21 days post-patent expiration) suggests Apotex filed ANDA well in advance, indicating generic competition pressure is real and immediate in legal sense even if commercial launch is years away.
