A class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court on Friday accusing Novo Nordisk (NVO) of running a “pay-for-delay” scheme with Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) to unlawfully delay the market entry of cheaper generic versions of the Danish drugmaker’s diabetes drug Victoza.
South Carolina-based drug wholesaler Smith Drug filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging that if not for the Novo (NVO)–Teva (TEVA) deal, generics against Victoza would have been available in the market since 2023.
In 2024, Teva (TEVA) launched the first generic version of Victoza, Novo’s (NVO) first-generation GLP-1, which had amassed $1.7B in annual sales as of April of that year.
While the lawsuit didn’t name the Israel-based drugmaker as a defendant, it alleged that Novo illegally paid to delay Teva’s (TEVA) generic under a 2019 settlement that resolved a patent dispute between the two companies.
According to Reuters, the suit seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages for a proposed class of Victoza buyers.