Singapore Court of Appeal Notes No Finding of Fraud Against KBP or Dr. Huang; Dispute with Novo Nordisk Undergoing Arbitration Proceedings
SINGAPORE, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- KBP Biosciences Pte. Ltd. (the "Company" or "KBP") today issued a statement addressing the decision by the Singapore Court of Appeal to maintain the temporary injunction against the Company and its founder, Dr. Huang Zhenhua ("Dr. Huang"), pending final resolution of the arbitration proceedings commenced by the Company and by Novo Nordisk A/S ("Novo Nordisk"). While the Company is disappointed with the decision to maintain the injunction, the Court of Appeal's judgment expressly makes clear that the substantive issues raised by Novo Nordisk must be determined by the arbitral tribunal. Currently, the arbitration proceedings commenced by each party are still ongoing.
1. No Finding of Fraud or Dishonesty by Court of Appeal
Section 12A of Singapore's International Arbitration Act empowers the Singapore court to grant temporary injunctions to preserve the status quo whilst a dispute is being resolved in ongoing arbitration proceedings. This does not involve a trial of the underlying merits.
The Court of Appeal expressly observed that the Singapore court has made no finding of fraud or dishonesty against the Company or Dr. Huang, stating in no uncertain terms that "the Judge is not making a finding of dishonesty: that is a matter for the [arbitration] decision-maker at a trial".
The Court of Appeal further stated that:
"[t]he merits of Novo's claims and all of the appellants' defences remain for final adjudication in the arbitration independent of and unaffected by any finding by the Judge in these matters on good arguable case".
Accordingly, Novo Nordisk's allegations of fraud remain unproven. The Company is confident that these allegations of fraud will be firmly rejected when the matter is finally adjudicated in the arbitration.
2. Court of Appeal Confirmed that Novo Nordisk Received and Had Access to Raw Data Provided by KBP
The Company notes that the Court of Appeal confirmed that Novo Nordisk had access to documents from KBP, including the raw data:
"KBP uploaded (in PDF format) to the data room a listing containing data on the vital signs of every patient enrolled in Phase 2, referred to as the "Vital Signs Data Listing".
KBP also uploaded a set of documents known as the "CTA Package", previously submitted to the Chinese National Medical Products Administration, which included Phase 2 data.
It is noted that these documents enabled Novo to access patient-level data, including the site each patient was from and their systolic blood pressure ("SBP")."
The Company maintains its position that it provided all material information necessary for Novo Nordisk to make an informed decision to acquire ocedurenone, and there is no basis upon which any alleged misrepresentation or fraud can be maintained against it or Dr. Huang.
3. Novo Nordisk's Decision to Stop Development
The Company further reiterates its position that Novo Nordisk was wrong to stop the development of ocedurenone and intends to make this proof to the tribunal.
"We, together with multiple independent industry experts, believe that Novo's decision to terminate the Phase 3 clinical trial and discontinue the ocedurenone programme was wrong and without any legitimate basis," said Dr Huang Zhenhua. "This abrupt termination not only contravenes established scientific principles and sound clinical judgment, but also prevented a drug that had the potential to obtain regulatory approval and benefit a broad patient population from reaching the market, severely undermining the potential benefits to patients. We deeply deplore and regret this outcome."
The Company is not in a position to comment further on the ongoing proceedings, but the Company and Dr. Huang firmly maintain their position, and will vigorously pursue and defend all of their rights in the arbitration.
All media inquiries can be directed to: [email protected]
About KBP Biosciences
KBP Biosciences is a global, clinical-stage biotechnology company, headquartered in Singapore, focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious cardiorenal and infectious diseases with large unmet medical needs.
SOURCE KBP Biosciences Pte. Ltd.
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