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US court rules against Dr Reddy's in patent case

A US court has ruled against Dr Reddy's Laboratories and other generic drugmakers in a patent infringement case over the antibiotic Cipro, according to the court's Web site.

The site, www.fedcir.gov, said the US district court in New Jersey had upheld on Friday the patent of Bayer AG, which discovered the drug.

Several drugmakers, led by Schein Pharmaceutical Inc, Mylan Laboratories and Dr Reddy's US subsidiary, Reddy Cheminor Inc, had challenged the validity of a Bayer patent on Cipro expiring in December 2003.

A spokesman for Dr Reddy's declined comment on the ruling.

Dr Reddy's, India's only US-listed drugmaker, said in July it had received approvals from the United States Food and Drug Administration to launch a generic version of 100, 250, 500 and 750 mg versions of Cipro.

But analysts said the court judgement meant Reddy's would no longer be able to launch the drug.

Like other Indian drugmakers, Dr Reddy's is focusing on the US market for generics, or drugs no longer covered by patents. Analysts say margins in the US generics market are thrice as large as margins in India, which has some of the lowest drug prices in the world.

Dr Reddy's shares ended down 0.41 per cent at Rs 868.45 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, whose benchmark rose 0.95 per cent.

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