New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- In a setback to Sun Pharma's push into the fast-growing weight-loss and diabetes drug market, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the company to seek the court's approval before launching semaglutide tablets, following a patent infringement suit filed by the innovator, Novo Nordisk.

The Danish drugmaker lost patent exclusivity for semaglutide in March, the compound behind injectables like Ozempic and Wegovy, which saw a rush of copycat generics being launched in India. However, Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide, Rybelsus, is protected by a separate formulation patent, which it claims Sun has infringed. Novo has pursued a similar suit against Torrent Pharma over semaglutide tablets.

The generic semaglutide market...