Exelixis’ Cabometyx Profits Likely Safe Until 2026 After Ruling

Copies of the blockbuster cancer drug Cabometyx could be blocked until 2026 after a federal judge upheld the validity of an Exelixis Inc. patent MSN Laboratories Private Ltd. had conceded its generic version infringes, though he ruled it doesn’t infringe another expiring in 2030.

Judge Richard G. Andrews rejected MSN’s argument that the infringed patent, which covers certain compounds and methods of using them to treat cancer, is invalid as obvious based on a lead compound analysis, according to an opinion issued Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

The patent Andrews said MSN’s copy ...