Recently, the Delhi High Court granted an ad interim injunction to Bristol Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company & Ors (“Plaintiffs”) against Angle Bio Pharma & Ors. (“Defendants”).
The Plaintiffs filed the suit seeking an injunction restraining the Defendants from infringing their granted patent titled ‘Lactam-Containing Compounds and Derivatives Thereof as Factor Xa Inhibitors’, which is a novel pharmaceutical preparation and also known by the INN name APIXABAN. The patent was granted to the Plaintiffs on 4th April, 2011 and the term of the patent is valid till 17th September 2022. The Plaintiffs alleged that the Defendant No.1, Angle Bio Pharma, is advertising, offering and selling the product APIXABAN through its website and as well as through other platforms such as IndiaMart and Tradeindia, the Defendants Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
The court observed that Defendant No.1 is, clearly, offering the product APIXABAN for sale across the country and in bulk quantities, both through its own website as well as through the websites of the Defendant Nos. 2 and 3. Thus, the court held that, since there is no doubt that APIXABAN is the molecule over which the Plaintiffs enjoy exclusivity in view of Section 48 of the Patents Act, 1970, the Plaintiffs have made out a prima facie case in their favour. Accordingly, the court passed an order restraining the Defendant No. 1 from manufacturing, selling or offering for sale any pharmaceutical preparation of APIXABAN without license or authorization from the Plaintiffs and directing the Defendant Nos. 2 and 3 to take down the listings of the APIXABAN product within 36 hours upon receipt of the court’s order. The court further ordered that whenever the Plaintiffs come to know of any other links where APIXABAN is listed on the websites of the Defendant Nos. 2 or 3, notice shall be issued by the Plaintiff to them through counsel, upon which, within 36 hours, the said listings shall also be taken down, in compliance with the applicable guidelines relating to intermediaries.
Bristol Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company & Ors v. Angle Bio Pharma & Ors. [CS(COMM) 178/2022]. DHC Order dt. March 23, 2022