Defendant
4 cases as defendant.
Company overview. Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland (Lichtstrasse 35, 4056). It was incorporated on February 29, 1996, through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, and is publicly traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (NOVN) and the NYSE (NVS, ADR). Novartis is a large-cap operating company: roughly 75,000 employees, annual revenue of about $50–57 billion (≈$56.7B in 2025), and a market capitalization in the low-to-mid hundreds of billions of dollars as of 2026.
Products / operations. Novartis researches, develops, manufactures, and markets branded pharmaceuticals. It is organized as a holding company that operates largely through subsidiaries, focused on innovative medicines in cardiovascular/renal/metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, with technology platforms including radioligand therapy and cell/gene therapy. Major marketed brands include Entresto (heart failure), Cosentyx (psoriasis), Kesimpta, Kisqali (breast cancer), Tasigna, Pluvicto, and Zolgensma. The generics business Sandoz was spun off in 2023.
Patent-litigation posture. Novartis is an operating company defending its own patents: all four tracked cases list it as defendant, and none as plaintiff. Every case is an inter partes review (IPR) at the PTAB filed in 2017 by generic-drug competitors — Apotex, Argentum Pharmaceuticals, Actavis Elizabeth/Teva, and Sun Pharmaceutical — challenging U.S. Patent No. 9,187,405, which covers a dosing regimen for fingolimod (Gilenya), Novartis's oral multiple sclerosis drug. This is the standard Hatch-Waxman pattern of generic challengers attacking a brand's Orange Book-listed patent at the PTAB rather than an NPE asserting acquired patents.
Notable cases. The four petitions were joined into lead case Apotex Inc. et al. v. Novartis AG (IPR2017-00854); the Board's final written decision in 2018 found the petitioners failed to prove the claims unpatentable. On appeal, all challengers settled except Argentum, whose Federal Circuit appeal was dismissed for lack of standing (Argentum Pharm. LLC v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., 956 F.3d 1374, 2020). The cases reflect Novartis's broader effort to defend Gilenya exclusivity against multiple ANDA filers.
IPR filed by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries challenging the '405 patent; joined with IPR2017-00854 and finalized by written decision.
IPR by Actavis Elizabeth and Teva challenging the '405 patent was joined with IPR2017-00854 and terminated with the Final Written Decision on 2018-07-11.
IPR challenging the '405 patent was instituted and joined into lead IPR2017-00854; final written decision issued and latest docket activity was 2018-08.
IPR challenging claims 1-6 of the '405 patent. The PTAB instituted review and issued a Final Written Decision holding all claims not shown unpatentable; IPR certificate issued 2020-02-10.