Cipla, JB Chemicals dragged to court for alleged infringement of Vifor FCM patent

Vifor International received the patent for manufacturing of water-soluble iron carbohydrate complex, designated as ferric carboxymaltose or iron carboxymaltose, which is used for the intravenous treatment of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia when oral iron preparations are ineffective or cannot be used, on June 25, 2008 with a priority date of October 23, 2002 and the term of the patent expires on October 20, 2023.

Apprehending the commercial launch of the infringing products of Cipla and J B Chemicals, Vifor, on April 24 filed a petition claiming that it discovered marketing or promotional material in the third week of April, 2023 in respect of an intended launch of a generic version of the drug, by JB Chemicals under the name JBCarb and by Cipla under the name CipFCM. It also alleged that the launch of the products would result in infringement of the suit patent.

It submitted to the Court details of over 20 lawsuits filed by them against third parties, where it received orders protecting its rights. It further added that the suit patent is a ‘product by process patent’, which covers both the product and the process.

Meanwhile, the counsels appearing on behalf of the defendants (JB Chemicals and Cipla) submitted that the suit patent is only a ‘process patent’ and therefore, the plaintiffs (Vifor International) cannot be granted an ad interim injunction if the products are manufactured by the two drug makers by using a different process. It was further submitted by the counsels for Cipla and J B Chemicals that they do not manufacture the products themselves. The products are being manufactured by BDR Pharmaceuticals and the defendants only market the aforesaid products they submitted.

The court has posted the matter for hearing on May 11, 2023, for submissions on behalf of the defendants (Cipla and J B Chemicals). Various patent litigations filed by Vifor related to the same patent have been transferred to the Single Bench for hearing.

To view the original case, click on the links below: