Lupin settles US patent row

Abbott and Astellas dismiss Omnicef violation case.

Lupin, the Mumbai-based drug company, and its US subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, have mutually settled a patent violation case pending in a US court on the bacterial infection drug Omnicef, owned by Abbott Laboratories and Astellas Pharma.

"Lupin, Abbott Laboratories and Astellas, have mutually dismissed various claims against each other without prejudice on a civil action (Civil Action No 3:06CV-400) related to litigation proceedings on Cefdinir. The proceedings emanate from a civil action pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia," Lupin informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today.

Lupin did not disclose the details of the settlement.

Lupin was the first company to receive abbreviated new drug approval (ANDA) for Cefdinir for both capsule and suspension forms of the drug. In March this year, Abbott and Astellas Pharma sued Ranbaxy Laboratories, Teva and Sandoz for challenging the patent of Omnicef, which has over $634 million sales in the US market (2005), according to IMS Health, a market research agency.

Recently, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals had sued Lupin in the US District Court of Maryland for challenging three patents on Wyeth's Effexor XR capsule (venlafaxine hydrochloride), a blockbuster anti-depressant drug. Lupin is also challenging the patent of Lotreal, the hypertension drug of Novartis.

"Based on the growth that we have witnessed in the US, Lupin is in the process of building a generics powerhouse. The Para IV strategy is important where we carefully select products whose patents we believe we do not infringe or are invalid. Lawsuits such as this are really a part of the process," Kamal K Sharma, managing director, Lupin, said.