July 11 (Reuters) - Novartis cannot block

drugmaker MSN Pharmaceuticals from launching a generic version

of its blockbuster heart-failure drug Entresto through late

2026, a Delaware federal judge said on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews rejected Novartis' argument

that MSN's generic would infringe one of its patents and denied

its request to block the generic from launching until after the

patent expires in November 2026.

Novartis told the court in a separate filing on Friday that

India-based MSN may receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration

approval for the generic as soon as July 16 and launch it soon

after. The generic would cut into the U.S. market for

Switzerland-based Novartis' best-selling drug, which earned the

company more than $7.8 billion in global revenue last year

according to a company report.

Novartis stock was down more than 2% on Friday morning.

Spokespeople for Novartis and MSN did not immediately respond to

requests for comment on the decision.

Novartis had convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal

Circuit in January to halt MSN's launch of its generic until

July in a separate patent case.