Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today tanked more than six per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after a US jury directed it to stop selling a copy of Abbott Laboratories’ hypertension drug, ‘Tarka’, in the country.
A five-member federal jury in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday rejected Glenmark’s challenge to the validity of the Tarka patent that expires in February 2015. The jury also directed Glenmark to pay about $16 million (Rs 70 crore) in damages to Abbott for selling the drug ‘at risk’.
Glenmark shares closed 6.46 per cent down at Rs 325 on the BSE.
Patent experts said Glenmark had the option of appealing against the decision with the US District Court of New Jersey.
A spokesperson at Glenmark declined to comment, saying the issue was legal.
Glenmark, which has a 180-day exclusive sales opportunity in the US upon patent expiry of this drug, was expecting to get $5-7 million every quarter in the coming few years from Tarka sale. Tarka has annual sales of about $60 million in the US and Glenmark is believed to be the first to challenge its patent with a generic version.
Glenmark had launched a copy of Tarka in June last year after a US court overruled an Abbott petition seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the Indian company from selling the drug in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration had approved Glenmark’s generic version in May. The original patent on Tarka was held by French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis and was later sold to Abbott.
Sources said Abbott was seeking about $25 million in damages from Glenmark for launching the drug ‘at risk’. Glenmark has been selling the generic version even as the court is yet to take a final decision on the patent issue. Glenmark could be liable to pay more to patent holders if it loses the case.
