India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories ($RDY) has come out on top after a Delhi court ruled against Bayer in a case which had been filed by the German drugmaker to stop Dr. Reddy's from launching a generic copy of the antistroke drug Xarelto.
Bayer confirmed that it had filed the suit in a statement to the Economic Times and Dr. Reddy's also said a suit had been filed but has "been disposed of with no injunction passed against Dr. Reddy's," the company told the newspaper.
The case was considered "significant" experts told the Economic Times, adding that they believed Dr. Reddy's may have told the court that it would not commercially launch any generic copy because Bayer's patent was still in force.
Foreign drugmakers have been particularly active in seeking injunctions against Indian generics makers to protect their patent interests and have acted when Indian companies file with state-level regulators.
Indian companies have also sought to use state-level approvals, the Economic Times reported, as a way to move ahead with development of drugs by telling state regulators they only want approval for "examination, tests and analysis" and not full-scale commercial production.
Bayer sells the blood-thinner Xarelto (rivaroxaban) in India through its JV Bayer Zydus.
Last spring, one of the court's justices ruled that India companies ready to market a generic of a patent-protected branded drug seek prior permission from the court.
Dr. Reddy's has not said it planned to market a Xeralto generic in India, but last year it filed a drug master file case in the United States, which the newspaper said was an indication it planned to launch its version of the drug there.
- here's the report from the Economic Times