In one of the high-profile patent disputes, multinational
drug maker Eli Lilly’s patent application for erectile
dysfunction drug Cialis has been opposed by Ranbaxy at the pre-grant
opposition stage.
Eli Lilly is facing the patent challenge on Cialis
even as it is fighting a legal battle against some of the domestic
pharma majors, which have already launched generic copies of this
drug.
Sources said that Ranbaxy has filed the pre-grant
opposition against Eli Lilly’s Cialis recently. Some other
Indian companies, which currently market the generic version of
this drug, are also expected to file pre-grant patent opposition
against Cialis, sources added. When contacted, a Ranbaxy spokesperson
said the company would not like to comment on the issue.
Mumbai-based Ajanta Pharma was among the first
companies to introduce a copy of Cialis in the estimated Rs 100-crore
Indian erectile dysfunction market, which is growing at 32% a year.
The drug works within 30 minutes of dosing and
enables the patient to have a spontaneous sexual act within 36 hours
(and hence is also called the weekend pill) unlike sildenafil
citrate, the active ingredient of Pfizer’s Viagra, which
requires the patient to schedule the act within four hours of dosing,
claims Eli Lilly.
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