Cipla loses appeal in US federal court in pet drug case

Cipla has lost an appeal in the US court of appeal for the federal circuit against a lower court ruling that the company's drug violated a patent held by Merial, a unit of French giant Sanofi.

The US court of appeal in Washington has ruled against Cipla Ltd and affirmed the district court order, with two judges ruling against the appeal and one judge in favour of the company, Cipla said in a release.

The Indian drug maker said it is examining options for an appeal against the order from the federal circuit.

While the lower US court had, on 21 June 2011, ordered the seizure of pet drug PetArmor Plus, made by Cipla and Velcera Inc, it had not determined the financial implications of the order, Cipla said.

Cipla manufactures the drug on behalf of Velcera.

The US court of appeals affirmed the order of the district court, Middle District of Georgia. Cipla had filed an appeal in the US court of appeals for the federal circuit in Washington, DC against this order, Cipla said in a statement to the stock exchanges.