Dr Reddy's plunges nearly 2% on patent infringement suit

NEW DELHI: Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd plunged as much as 1.85 per cent in a weak market on Monday, after Genzyme Corporation, a fully-owned subsidiary of drug major Sanofi-Aventis, filed a suit against Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.

The suit filed alleged that the Indian drug maker (Dr Reddy's) infringed patents of its blockbuster cancer drug Mozobil on three counts, PTI reported on Sunday.

At 09:50 a.m.; Dr Reddy's Laboratories was trading 1.71 per cent lower at Rs 2328.30. It has hit a low of Rs 2325 and a high of Rs 2346.20 in trade today.

Mozobil (plerixafor injection) is a hematopoietic stem cell mobiliser indicated to patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (blood cancer) and multiple myeloma.

"In its petition filed in the District Court of Delaware, Genzyme alleged that DRL intimated though a letter that it had submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application with US FDA seeking approval to engage in the commercial manufacture, importation, use, and sale of 20 mg/ml Plerixafor injection as a generic version of Mobozil drug," added the PTI report.

"Genzyme sought the court to declare that DRL's making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing its Plerixafor ANDA Injection Product by DRL is infringement of one or more claims of the patents," the report added.

According to Sanofi's 2012 annual report, Mozobil contributed Euros 96 million to its revenues.