Dr Reddy’s Labs to appeal US court ruling on infringement
By Our Corporate Bureau | 14 Oct 2002
Mumbai: Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has said it will appeal a US court’s decision that it infringed AstraZeneca’s patents on the heartburn blockbuster Prilosec.
A New York court ruled on 11 October 2002 that the Indian company and two other generic drugmakers — Genpharm Inc and Andrx Corp — had infringed patents on Prilosec, a drug that generates almost $6 billion in annual sales. The court ruled that a generic made by KUDCo, a unit of Germany’s Schwarz Pharma AG, did not infringe the patents.
Dr Reddy’s, like other Indian producers, targets the lucrative US market for generic drugs, or those that have lost their patent protection. Its shares were down 0.62 per cent at Rs 775 in early trade, while the Bombay index was flat. Its American Depository Receipts ended 3.13 per cent higher at $17.48 on 11 October.
