Indivior launches generic version of opioid drug after losing court battle

(Reuters) - Indivior Plc has launched a copycat version of its blockbuster opioid addiction drug in the United States, the British drugmaker said on Wednesday, after losing a prolonged court battle to block generic rivals in its biggest market.

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to Indivior on Tuesday when it cleared the way for a cut-price version of its Suboxone Film in a victory for India-based generic drug maker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.

The United States, which accounts for 80 percent of Indivior's revenue, faces an opioid abuse epidemic that President Donald Trump has declared a public health emergency, signalling a big opportunity for Indivior's newer opioid addiction treatments and Suboxone, which generates the bulk of its revenue.

Indivior has spent over two years fighting multiple legal battles and patent disputes in the United States and had put in place a multi-phase contingency plan to stem losses from generic rivals.

The company has said it faces potentially severe losses in market share in the immediate future to copycat products, and has pinned hopes on its long-lasting Sublocade injection becoming another blockbuster opioid addiction drug and help it reduce its dependence on Suboxone.

Indivior last week forecast Sublocade revenue for 2019 above analysts' expectations. It is also looking at its schizophrenia drug Perseris to fuel the future as Suboxone sales slow.

The company's shares have fallen nearly 80 percent since Dr. Reddy's and Mylan NV's generics were first approved by U.S. regulators in June of last year.

Indivior ended 2018 with a 53 percent share of the Suboxone film in the U.S. market, compared to 56 percent in 2017 and 61 percent in 2016.

The company's authorized generic is being marketed and distributed by Sandoz Inc.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Bernard Orr)