Danish Pharmaceutical Giant Claims It Was Misled About Hypertension Treatment’s Effectiveness

Novo Nordisk has filed a lawsuit in Singapore, seeking up to US$830 million in damages, alleging that it was deceived by a local biotech company regarding the efficacy of an experimental hypertension drug.

According to a court ruling made public this week, KBP Biosciences and its founder misrepresented the potential of the drug, ocedurenone, claiming it was a breakthrough treatment for hypertension and kidney disease.

Novo acquired ocedurenone from KBP Biosciences in late 2023 for up to US$1.3 billion. However, less than a year later, the Danish pharmaceutical giant halted clinical trials due to the drug’s ineffectiveness, resulting in an impairment loss of approximately US$800 million.

Following Novo’s legal challenge, Singapore’s International Commercial Court ordered a freeze on the assets of KBP Biosciences and its founder, Huang Zhenhua. The ruling also revealed that Novo is pursuing further legal action against KBP in New York.

The court found that KBP withheld crucial clinical trial data, failing to disclose interim analysis results. Additionally, the judge noted that Huang was “arguably aware of and involved in the misrepresentations.”

KBP Biosciences has not yet issued a statement in response to the allegations.