Hyderabad: City based drug maker Natco Pharma’s shares have plunged by nearly 15 per cent on Tuesday, after a setback in the US Supreme Court over a generic cancer drug.
The decision to hear an appeal filed by multinational drug major Teva Pharmaceuticals, against an earlier judgment that allowed Natco and its partner Mylan Inc, is expected to delay the income flow that the Indian company would have got from Copaxone.
Copaxone (Glatiramer Acetate) is used in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. In 2013, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s earlier finding related to Teva’s US Patent for the drug.
“The US Supreme Court agreed to hear appeal in a patent fight on Copaxone. The company continues to believe that Teva’s 808 patent is invalid for indefiniteness,” Natco said.
A delay in the launch of new generic would allow Teva to shift patients to new version of Copaxone, which would deny advantage to other generic players.
This legal battle is important for Israel-based world’s largest generic drug maker Teva as Copaxone contributes 50 per cent of its profits.
