Lupin signs agreement with Abott Laboratories and others for Fenofibrate
27 Apr 2011
Drug-maker Lupin and its subsidiaries have inked a licence agreement with Abbott Laboratories and Laboratoires Fournier SA for eight patents on cholesterol-lowering drug Fenofibrate.
The agreement also covers continuations, extensions, re-isues, re-examinations and so on, according to a Lupin note. The note, however, did not divulge details.
Nilesh Gupta, group president and executive director of Lupin, told Business Line, that the agreement essentially ''erases the patent uncertainty'' on Lupin's products.
In 2009, Lupin had bought Antara, a brand of Fenofibrate from Oscient Pharmaceuticals under the procedures of the US Bankruptcy Court, for around Rs185 crore for the product and related assets and inventory.
Though figures for the latest revenue grossed by Antara are not available, the brand had recorded a sale of $70 million in 2008, according to Lupin's past communication. The company's patent over the product expires in August 2020.
The drug was developed by Groupe Fournier SA. It was acquired in 2005 by Solvay Pharmaceutical. In late 2009, Abbott bought over the pharma business of Solvay.
According to Gupta, Oscient was paying royalty on the patent to Abbott. However he did not divulge whether Lupin too would have to pay royalty on the patents.
According to analysts, of the eight patents in the agreement, three are not listed, two cover the active pharmaceutical ingredient and three cover formulations or the finished dosage forms.
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