Novartis's older MS drug Gilenya wins Chinese approval

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis's Gilenya multiple sclerosis drug has won approval in China, the Swiss drugmaker said on Friday, as the company expands further into the world's most-populous country's growing healthcare sector.

Nearly a decade after its U.S. approval, Gilenya remains Novartis's No. 2 revenue generator at $825 million in the second quarter. The Basel-based company is defending patents on Gilenya in the United States to block generic rivals, while eying countries including China to expand the medicine's international sales.

(Reporting by John Miller; Editing by Thomas Seythal)