Sandoz files to revoke a Novo Nordisk semaglutide patent at the Unified Patent Court

Sandoz has filed suit at the Unified Patent Court's Milan Central Division seeking to revoke Novo Nordisk's unitary patent 3 689 365, which covers the 1 mg dose of semaglutide used to treat diabetes. The patent applies across 18 European Union countries under the UPC's unified system. Beyond the identity of the parties, the patent number, and the venue, the underlying court filings, Sandoz's legal arguments, and Novo Nordisk's response are not detailed in the financial disclosures reviewed for this article, so those specifics are not yet known publicly in the sourcing available here.

What is documented is how central semaglutide has become to Novo Nordisk's business. In the second quarter of 2026, Ozempic, the semaglutide brand for diabetes, generated DKK 31,375 million in adjusted sales, up 5% at constant exchange rates from a year earlier ^[1]. Novo Nordisk says it provided medical treatment to 41.6 million people living with diabetes in the first half of 2026 ^[1]. The company's broader GLP-1 portfolio, including Wegovy for obesity, drove adjusted operating profit of DKK 33,389 million in the quarter, an 11% increase at constant exchange rates, prompting Novo Nordisk to raise its full-year sales and profit guidance ^[1].

The scale of that revenue helps explain why patent challenges to semaglutide draw attention from generic and biosimilar manufacturers like Sandoz. A patent covering a specific dose, such as the 1 mg diabetes dose named in this case, can determine how long Novo Nordisk holds exclusive rights to sell that formulation before competitors can enter with their own versions. However, the financial report used as a source for this article does not mention the Sandoz case, the UPC proceeding, or any legal risk tied to patent 3 689 365, so it is not possible to say from available sourcing what specific claims Sandoz is making or when a ruling might come.

Why it matters for patients

For now, this filing is a legal dispute in European courts and does not directly affect access, pricing, or availability of semaglutide products in the United States. Patients using Ozempic, Wegovy, or Rybelsus in the US are governed by separate US patents and regulatory timelines, which are not addressed by this UPC filing.

The case is still worth watching because patent challenges like this one can be an early signal of how competition for semaglutide might unfold globally. If a European court revokes or narrows this patent, it could open the door to earlier generic or biosimilar competition in the EU countries covered by the unitary patent system, which in turn can influence pricing dynamics that sometimes spill over into how manufacturers approach other markets, including the US. But that outcome, if it happens, is not detailed in the sources available for this article.

What happens next

The available source material does not include a timeline for the UPC proceeding, a hearing date, or an expected ruling date. Novo Nordisk's own financial reporting, current through the second quarter of 2026, does not reference this litigation, so any update on the case's progress, its outcome, or its effect on Novo Nordisk's semaglutide business would need to come from future disclosures not yet available in the sourcing reviewed here.