AbbVie Loses Bid to Block Viberzi IBS Drug Copies for a Decade

AbbVie Inc.’s Allergan unit lost its effort to block two generic-drug makers’ copies of Viberzi, as a federal judge canceled six patents for the irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea treatment, including five that wouldn’t have expired for nearly a decade.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and MSN Laboratories Private Ltd. conceded ahead of a November 2022 bench trial that their proposed copies respectively would infringe multiple patents if their validity held up to challenges. Such concessions are a common tactic that allows a party accused of infringement to focus on its invalidity arguments.

Judge Richard G. Andrews agreed with Sun and MSN ...