Indivior's shares rise after US court blocks Dr Reddy's generic drug

Shares in British drugmaker Indivior rose on Monday after a US Court granted a temporary restraining order blocking Dr Reddy's Laboratories from launching a generic version of Indivior's best-selling opioid addiction treatment.

Indivior shares rose more than 6 per cent in early trade, after falling by nearly a third on Friday after Dr Reddy's and US-based Mylan NV received FDA approval for a generic version of Suboxone Film, which generates 80 per cent of Indivior's revenue.

Indivior said on Saturday that the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted it a temporary restraining order, which will remain in place pending a hearing on the preliminary injunction motion filed by Indivior on Friday.

"We are pleased that the Court has granted our request for a temporary restraining order... We will continue to pursue all legal avenues against Dr Reddy's to protect our Suboxone Film patent," Indivior Chief Executive Shaun Thaxter said.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction motion has been scheduled for June 28, and the company will seek to extend the cessation of launch activities by Dr Reddy's pending the outcome of the recently filed litigation against Dr Reddy's.

Dr Reddy's said on Friday it would launch its new drug regardless of the legal squabble.

Generic rivals in tablet form are already on the US market, which is grappling with an opioid addiction epidemic that killed 33,000 people in 2015, but Suboxone Film leads the market with its version which is placed under the tongue to suppress cravings.

Indivior stuck to its 2018 revenue guidance on Friday but said it would revisit the forecast if Dr Reddy's launches the cheaper drug.

It said Dr Reddy's launch could "potentially result in a rapid and material loss of market share for the drug in the U.S., an effect that could occur within months of a successful launch of a generic film alternative."

Indivior also said it was considering a potential launch of its own generic and operational cost cuts in response. It said its contingency plans would also focus on optimising the launch of Sublocade, a once-a-month injectable drug to suppress opioid craving that it launched in the United States in February.