Roche plea on cancer drug patent dismissed

Recently the division bench of Delhi High Court allowed domestic drug major Cipla to sell its generic version of the lung cancer drug Erlotinib, dismissing an appeal filed by F Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche) and OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc (OSI).

Roche was awarded a product patent for the drug, which it has sold under the brand name Tarceva in India since 2006. Cipla launched its generic version, Erlocip, in India, challenging the monopoly rights of Roche. In January 2008, Roche and OSI filed an infringement suit in Delhi High Court seeking an interim injunction to restrain Cipla from manufacturing, offering for sale, selling and exporting Erlocip, and from infringing the patent with respect to Tarceva. Cipla submitted to the court that no injunction should be granted till its post-grant opposition, filed in the Delhi patent office, was heard and decided upon, as Cipla had also filed a counter-claim and a written statement seeking the revocation of the patent granted to Roche.

Delhi High Court passed an order in favour of Cipla in 2008, thereby declining Roche’s appeal for the grant of an interim injunction. However, Roche challenged the order at the division bench of Delhi High Court by filing an appeal.

The update of court judgments is compiled by Bhasin & Co, Advocates, a corporate law firm based in New Delhi. The authors can be contacted at lbhasin@bhasinco.in, lbhasin@vsnl.com or lbhasin@gmail.com. Readers should not act on the basis of this information without seeking professional legal advice.