Drug maker Dr Reddy’s is caught in another legal row in a US court on alleged patent infringement.

US-based biopharmaceutical firm AbbVie Inc, the spun-off arm of Abbott, has filed a petition in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging that Dr Reddy’s was trying to sell a generic copy of its patented hyperactive-thyroid drug Zemplar.

The US firm has alleged that Dr Reddy’s move to file an Abbreviated New Drug Application for a generic copy of Zemplar injectable products prior to the expiration of the patents was an infringement.

Scrip down

Dr Reddy’s shares fell 1.53 per cent (or Rs 32.60) to touch Rs 2099.50 on the BSE today.

AbbVie filed the petition in the court along with a non-profit organisation Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a designated technology transfer organisation for the University of Wisconsin.

It has sought the court to prohibit approval of Dr’s Reddy’s ANDA relating to generic paricalcitol injection products before the expiration of the six-month period of market exclusivity.

Last month, the Indian company notified that it had filed an ANDA containing a Paragraph IV certification for paricalcitol injection.

When contacted, Dr Reddy’s spokesperson declined to comment on the issue.

Two of the three patents mentioned by the petitioners (nos 758 and 799) expires on April 8, 2018, while the third (no 815 entitled Prevention of Hyper-phosphatemia in kidney disorder patients), which is held by the Wisconsin University Foundation, expires on July 13, 2015.

amitmitra@thehindu.co.in