Author name: J. Sai Deepak

Singh is (Sin)King???

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“Ranbaxy is my life, my blood ”, was how the CEO and MD of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Malvinder Mohan Singh chose to describe his relationship with the company at a press conference in New Delhi yesterday. This statement was made on the eve of Japan’s third largest drug-maker, Daiichi-Sankyo’s takeover of Ranbaxy at an estimated $4.6 billion at a price of Rs.737 per share pursuant to a Share Purchase and Share Subscription agreement which brings its holding in Ranbaxy to […]

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MNC Drug Cos Set Their Sights on Developing Nations

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More than a fortnight ago on May 15th, an article in the New York edition of The Economist reported what appears to be an interesting development. According to the article, there is a quantum shift in the attitudes of global drug companies (read Big Pharma) towards markets in developing nations. The Economist says that thus far, multinational drug companies have remained “leery” of developing nations thanks to the twin bogies of what Big Pharma perceives to be public vigilantism on

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Choking the Patients???

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SpicyIP, has in several posts, discussed the issue of generic drug companies taking patients for a ride. The Hindu now reports another instance involving two drugs, theophylline and doxofylline, both of which are prescribed to treat wheezing, shortness of breath, and difficulty in breathing caused by asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and other lung diseases. Both relax and open air passages in the lungs, making it easier to breathe. In short, they are bronchodilators. Theophylline, a scheduled drug, and all its

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SpicyIP Review

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An article entitled “Intellectual Property Rights and the Challenges Faced by the Pharmaceutical Industry” published in SCC journal in 2004 by the sitting Supreme Court Judge and the then Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, Justice Markandey Katju was brought to my notice sometime back.     The purpose of Justice Katju’s literary exercise appears to have been two-fold- (a) to explain the imperatives which required the Indian legislature to amend the Patents Act in 2005 pursuant to its

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Insulin Drug Lantus Now in India

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Quoting Aventis Pharma Managing Director Shailesh Ayyangar, The Hindu, reports that Solostar, a disposable version of the insulin drug Lantus has been launched in India by Aventis Pharma just 16 months after its launch in Germany. The report also mentions that Indian diabetic population is second to none making it the diabetes capital of the world. Lantus has a market share of 7 per cent in India with the worth of the Indian insulin market pegged at Rs 400 crore

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SpicyIP Tidbits: Indian Drug Regulatory System Forced to Swallow the Bitter Pill by WHO

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The Indian drug regulatory system is at the receiving end of a withering scorn from the WHO which lambasted the Indian authorities for the lackadaisical approach which pervades the drug approval mechanism. Coming from the WHO, these scathing remarks are extremely damaging for a nation which boasts of being home to the world’s fourth largest pharmaceutical market by volume and thirteenth by value and probably point to the need for some honest soul searching. What is even more dangerous is

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SpicyIP Tidbit: AstraZeneca Cuts a Deal with Ranbaxy

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The cat is finally out of the bag. After ostensibly denying reports of any kind of settlement with Ranbaxy, AstraZeneca has concluded an agreement with Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, which would allow Ranbaxy to start exclusive sales of a generic version of ulcer drug Nexium from May 27, 2014 in the US. This is in addition to the 180-day period following that date during which time Ranbaxy shall have the exclusive marketing rights to

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Timeframe for Pre-Grant Opposition Sought

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I have nothing much to contribute to what’s already been reported by the Financial Express, so I might as well faithfully reproduce it: In a strategic move to thwart the increasing number of challenges to patents that multinational pharma firms face, the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), an association of research-based international and large pharma Companies in India, has recommended the filing of pre-grant opposition within six months of publication and disposed off within 12 months of commencement

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SpicyIP Tidbit: District Court in the US Voids New USPTO Rules

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In what is universally seen as a thumping victory for patent applicants, a Virginia District Court, on April 1st, enjoined the USPTO from implementing the “Changes to Practice for Continued Examination Filings, Patent Applications Containing Patently Indistinct Claims, and Examination of Claims in Patent Applications”. The plaintiffs were GlaxoSmithKline and Triantafyllos Tafas. These rules were due to come into effect last November and had certain controversial changes which limited the number of continuation or continuation-in-part applications in a patent family

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SpicyIP Tidbit: IIT Kharagpur’s IP Commercialisation Workshop

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Over the last 2 days, an IP protection and commercialisation workshop called IndAc’08 was held at IIT Kharagpur with active support from its Law School, the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law and the Technology Transfer Group of the institute. This workshop was the first of its kind with industry delegates from various sectors personally interacting with student and faculty inventors discussing the potential for commercialising their work and the results have been very encouraging. In fact, companies like

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