US-based pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Cipla are heading towards an amicable settlement on a long-stretched patent row over Entecavir, a pharmaceutical combination for treating Hepatitis B.
When the case came up before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), the counsel for the US firm, MS Bharat, representing Anand and Anand, informed the patent tribunal that both the parties are in discussion to settle the matter and it would take more time to seal the settlement.
The IPAB bench comprising chairman justice KN Basha and DPS Parmar, technical member, patents, adjourned the matter since both the parties were exploring the possibilities of an amicable settlement. Indian generic firm Natco Pharma had earlier settled the dispute on the same product amicably.
Cipla, in 2010, had filed a revocation application with the IPAB for a pharmaceutical composition comprising up to 1% of Entecavir effective for once a day oral administration to treat Hepatitis B virus infection in a human adult patient. The patent was filed on July 2, 2002, and was published on January 25, 2008.
In 2010, Zydus Cadila and Natco Pharma launched their generic versions of Baraclude (Entecavir). Zydus Cadila launched its product under the brand Entehep and Natco Pharma started marketing it as X-vir. Ranbaxy had also launched a generic product of the drug earlier in the market.
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