Indivior (INDV) has warned its best-selling opioid addiction therapy in the US could suffer a ‘rapid and material loss of market share’ if it fails to appeal a court ruling.
It says the US District Court for the District of Delaware decided US pharma firm Alvogen did not infringe the patent of opioid addiction therapy Suboxone Film.
Shares in Indivior plummeted 19% to 328.6p when the market opened but losses quickly narrowed so that the shares were only trading 6.2% down at 383p in mid-morning trading.
Indivior claims it has ‘grounds for appeal’ and Alvogen is yet to gain approval for its treatment from the US regulatory authority.
Unfortunately if Indivior cannot get the ruling reversed, it cannot stop its rival from manufacturing and marketing their own generic drug.
If Alvogen did win the appeal and gain approval, Indivior says it could lose market share rapidly ‘within months of a successful launch of a generic film alternative into the US market’.
Indivior says it has robust contingency plans based on various potential genetic film launch scenarios, but flags its 2018 performance assumes no new launches.
Last December Indivior received approval for injectable drug Sublocade, which is expected to be its largest revenue generating product.
