Sun Pharmaceuticals received a second blow in just four days after a US federal jury ruled that Pfizer Inc and Altana AG have valid patents for acidity medicine Protonix (pantoprazole).
The patent on Protonix is held by Altana, now owned by Swiss firm Nycomed, and was licensed to US company Wyeth, which is now a part of Pfizer.
Sun launched a generic version of Protonix in the US in January, 2008, after receiving approval from US Food and Drug Administration in September, 2007.It shared 180-day exclusivity on Protonix with Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Though the court verdict is awaited, experts say chances of the court verdict being contrary to the jury verdict are low, and if the court verdict too goes against Sun, the company may have to pay damages to the patent holder.
Going by experts, the damages could be three times the $300 million or so Sun has made from sales of generic pantoprazole so far.
Following the news, Sun’s stock fell 4.77% —- the most in eight months —- on the Bombay Stock Exchange to Rs 1,604.25.
The jury verdict in the US District Court of Newark, New Jersey comes close on the heels of the court asking Sun to stop selling its generic version of cancer medicine Eloxatin from June 30.
However Sun can re-enter the market in 2012.
The US is a key market for Sun and accounts for nearly 30% of its sales.
According to a Sun spokesperson, the jury verdict is negative, but the court verdict is awaited and it can be appealed.
“Pantoprazole is a large product. We haven’t yet taken adecision on stopping the product,” the spokesperson said.
Analysts say pending the court verdict, the impact is mostly sentimental.
“There is nothing definite at the moment and it’s a wait and watch situation,” said Sarabjit Kour Nangra, vice-president, research, Angel Broking.
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