Shares of Indian drugmaker Cipla Ltd fell sharply on Thursday after a US drug developer said overnight it was issued two patents for ulcer drug Omeprazole, which Cipla plans to supply to a competing US generic drugmaker.
Cipla shares fell as much as 5.29 per cent to Rs 1,051 but later recovered slightly to Rs 1,060, down 4.49 per cent, at which point the Bombay sensitive index was down 0.46 per cent.
Wilmington-based aaiPharma Inc said on Wednesday it was issued two patents covering omeprazole, the active ingredient in the blockbuster Prilosec.
Analysts said AstraZeneca, which holds the original patent on Omeprazole, could licence the new patents from aaiPharma and block generic competition from Andrx Corp which plans to launch its copycat version next year.
Cipla plans to supply Omeprazole to Andrx, and would be hit by any delay in Andrx
