Novartis has reportedly sued Cipla in the Delhi High Court for infringing patents related to Novartis’s Onbrez Breezhaler indacaterol DPI (Arcapta Neohaler). Cipla began marketing a generic indacaterol DPI called “Unibrez” in October; after losing a trademark infringement case, Cipla changed the product’s name to “Indaflo.”
Cipla has claimed that there is a shortage of Onbrez in India, which Novartis has denied. Lupin is licensed to sell Onbrez capsules in India.
In October 2014, Cipla asked the Indian Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) to revoke five of Novartis’s patents related to Onbrez (IN222346, IN230049, IN210047, IN230312, IN214320). According to the Times of India, the government is unlikely to grant that request or to issue a compulsory license.
Read the Reuters article.
