Generic Drugmaker Asks Justices to Lift Pause on Gilenya Ruling

HEC Pharm Co. argued to the US Supreme Court that it’s unnecessary to pause a patent court ruling that allows generic drugmakers to start selling copycats of Novartis Pharmaceutical Co.'s blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya.

Chief Justice John Roberts last week accepted Novartis’ request for a stay of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s unusual decision that invalidated Novartis’ Gilenya patent. The delay would stall HEC’s plans to roll out its generic version of the branded drug and allow Novartis to continue to charge a higher price, the generic maker said in a Wednesday response to Novartis’ ...