Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Aurore Life Sciences From Manufacturing, Selling Ruxolitinib In Patent Suit

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Aurore Life Sciences Pvt Ltd from using, manufacturing, stockpiling, importing, offering for sale, selling, or exporting pharmaceutical products containing Ruxolitinib, a prescription drug used to treat myelofibrosis, a form of bone marrow cancer, in a patent infringement suit filed by Incyte Holdings Corporation and two others.

Justice Jyoti Singh passed the ex-parte ad interim injunction after holding that the patent holders had made out a prima facie case.

"Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiffs as they have a valid patent, the term of which is yet to expire and Defendant is yet to commercially launch its product. Irreparable injury shall be caused to the Plaintiffs, if the relief sought is not granted at this stage," the court observed.

Incyte Holdings Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Incyte Corporation, along with two other companies, moved the court seeking protection of its patent covering Ruxolitinib. The other two companies are part of the Novartis group.

Ruxolitinib works by blocking Janus kinase (JAK) enzymes involved in the production and growth of blood cells. The patent was granted in 2015, remains valid until December 12, 2026, and the drug is marketed in India and other countries under the brand name JAKAVI.

The companies told the court that, during a routine online due diligence exercise in January 2026, they found Aurore Life Sciences had listed Ruxolitinib as one of its "Scale-up APIs" on its website, with samples marked as available.

They also found the company listed on the third-party commercial platform Pharmacompass as a supplier of Ruxolitinib and Ruxolitinib Phosphate API.

Justice Singh noted that Aurore Life Sciences had not yet commercially launched its product and restrained the company, along with anyone acting on its behalf, from using, manufacturing, stockpiling, importing, offering for sale, selling, exporting or otherwise dealing in pharmaceutical products containing Ruxolitinib, either alone or in combination with any other compound or formulation, until the next date of hearing.

The court issued summons to Aurore Life Sciences and directed it to file its written statement within 30 days of receiving the summons.

The matter will next be heard on September 16, 2026.