In proceedings initiated by US pharmaceutical major Pfizer Inc. for infringement of its patent against a Hyderabad based generic drug manufacturer, the Delhi High Court has restrained the defendants from making, selling, distributing, advertising and exporting drugs infringing the suit patent.
The suit was instituted by the plaintiffs in September 2015, after discovering that the defendants were ready to market the generic version of SUTENT, their patented cancer treatment drug. The defendants nevertheless continued to advertise the infringing products on their website in contempt of the court’s order and delayed filing a written statement. Their actions earned the court’s reproach, which, on 16 August 2016, while decreeing the suit in favour of the plaintiffs, directed the defendants to pay costs of Rs.2 million to a cancer research organization in Chennai.
Sugen v KV Prakash