SC refuses to hear Roche's patent plea against Cipla

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by Swiss pharma major Hoffman La Roche against Cipla Ltd, challenging a Delhi High Court order in a patent litigation on its anti-cancer drug `Erlotinib', a generic version of Roche's `Tarceva'.

SC refused to hear the special leave petition challenging the division bench order of the Delhi high court as the issue was under the consideration of the trial court judge and a final verdict was yet to be passed.

Dismissing Roche's petition, a bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari asked the trial judge of the high court, before whom the original petition is pending, to decide on the matter expeditiously.

Besides, it said, the single judge should not be influenced by any observations made by the division bench. 

The division bench of the high court besides dismissing Roche's plea seeking to restrain Cipla from manufacturing and selling the generic drug till the issue of patent rights was decided, had imposed a cost of Rs5 lakh on the Swiss company.

Roche filed its plea with the Supreme Court soon after the appellate bench of the high court passed verdict against its petition alleging patent infringement by Cipla.

The division bench verdict came on a Roche's petition challenging the single bench decision to allow Cipla carry on marketing of the generic version of Terceva.