(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled against the Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG in a patent infringement dispute concerning the blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears patent disputes, reversed its own earlier ruling in the case.
A divided panel found Novartis’ patent was invalid, reviving HEC Pharm Co’s bid to make a generic version of the blockbuster drug.
Novartis made nearly $2.8 billion from Gilenya sales last year according to a company report, making it the Swiss pharmaceutical company’s third-highest-selling drug.
The companies and their attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
