3 min readMar 31, 2026 09:44 AM IST
Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk and Indian generic drugmaker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL) have put an end to their trademark dispute over Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic.
DRL has agreed that they will henceforth not manufacture and sell the semaglutide formulation under the ‘Olymviq’ branding, which sounds similar to Ozempic.
DRL, which had officially announced the launch of its semaglutide formulation under the branding of ‘Obeda’, was also branding the drug as ‘Olymviq’ and ‘Mashlo’. Novo Nordisk had objected to the use of ‘Olymviq’, arguing that it was deceptively similar phonetically to Ozempic.
DRL has informed the Delhi High Court that it has changed its branding for Olymviq to ‘Olymra’ and shall forthwith stop the manufacturing, distribution, sale, and other commercial use, either online or offline, of the product under the branding of Olymviq, including the logo or packaging, or any other such similarity with the Ozempic mark.
DRL also undertook before the court that it would withdraw all trademark applications for Olymviq that it had filed before the trademark registry.
Justice Jyoti Singh, who decreed the suit in terms of the settlement arrived at between the two pharma companies, also recorded last week that DRL shall not sell its remaining stock of injections after 30 days.
DRL informed the court that the remaining unsold stock after this period shall be donated to a government hospital.
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After DRL launched its generic semaglutide formulation on March 21 under the brand name of ‘Obeda’, to be used for treating type-2 diabetes, Novo Nordisk moved the Delhi HC to say that DRL had also released its generic version of the injectable semaglutide under the branding of ‘Olymviq’. It accused DRL of “trademark infringement”.
Novo Nordisk’s key argument was that ‘Ozempic’ is an invented word, and not a derivative from a chemical name (like, say, the anti-allergy drug Montek derives its name from the compound Montelukast), DRL was attempting to play on the phonetic similarity between ‘Ozempic’ and ‘Olymviq’.
Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide portfolio has been a turning point for the company, with WeGovy and Ozempic driving its sales for the past few years. This year, however, the company forecast a drop in its sales going forward, one of the reasons being the loss of patent protections across various jurisdictions globally.
