Indivior PLC (LON:INDV) has been granted a temporary order preventing Indian giant Dr Reddy's launching a copycat version of the company's best-selling Suboxone Film, used to treat opiate drug addiction.
On Friday. £500mln was wiped from the value of the UK firm after Dr Reddy's said it was going to market with its cut-price product – much to the surprise of analysts.
READ: Indivior subpoenaed by the California Department of Insurance over its blockbuster opioid addiction treatment
The restraining order, handed down by the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, will remain in place pending a hearing on the preliminary injunction motion filed by Indivior last Friday (June 15).
The injunction being sought would place an embargo on a Dr Reddy's launch of a Suboxone generic until a patent dispute is resolved.
Indivior chief executive Shaun Thaxter said: "We will continue to pursue all legal avenues against Dr Reddy's to protect our Suboxone Film patent estate."
Long-running legal battles
FTSE 250-listed Indivior has been down the legal route several times over the past couple of years to protect its star asset which is responsible for about four-fifths of its total sales.
Various claims and counter-claims have been filed against the copycats, two of which – from Dr Reddy’s and Mylan – have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Subloxone Film is protected by patents until 2022, which means a generic rival can’t hit the market for another four years.
But Dr Reddy’s doesn’t believe its treatment infringes any of those patents, and a court ruling in Delaware last year backed up that claim, although Indivior is in the process of challenging it.
After getting hammered on Friday, shares rose 5.2% to 380p on Monday morning.
--Updates for share price and additional info--