JOHANNESBURG: South African pharmacy group iDexis said on Tuesday it had applied to appeal a court judgment that curbed its production of compounded weight-loss medicines, disputing allegations about product safety and regulatory compliance.
The dispute follows a High Court interim order granted last month barring iDexis from manufacturing and selling GLP-1 medicines containing semaglutide, in a case brought by Novo Nordisk and comes amid heightened scrutiny of compounded versions of popular weight-loss and diabetes treatments.
Compounding involves pharmacies mixing or altering the active ingredients of a medicine to address specific patient needs. In South Africa, it is restricted to a small number of patients and not allowed at commercial scale.
Legal representatives of iDexis have lodged an application for leave to appeal the interim interdict, iDexis Managing Director Ruaan Louw said in a statement.
As per the order, the pharmacy stopped compounding GLP-1 and GIP products after the judgment was handed down and remains committed to complying with the law and protecting public health, Louw said.
