Novartis drops as judge rules Entresto patent invalid

Shares of Novartis have moved lower in Friday morning trading after a district judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued a ruling as part of the multi-district litigation of patent infringement claims regarding Entresto. Only the ‘659 patent is at issue in the just-issued opinion, noted the judge, who points out that the parties dispute whether claims 1-4 of the ‘659 patent are invalid for obviousness, lack of written description, non-enablement, and indefiniteness. “I find the asserted claims of the ‘659 patent invalid for lack of written description,” the judge wrote in a ruling posted to the court’s website. Following the news of the ruling, Novartis shares trading in New York are down $2.39, or about 2%, to $95.63.