US Court of Appeals upholds preliminary injunction against Ranbaxy

Mumbai: The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has upheld the preliminary injunction granted by the US District Court for the District of New Jersey barring its subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc (RPI) from marketing its Quinapril HCI Tablets (5mg,10mg,20, and 40mg).

Ranbaxy had appealed to the CAFC to reverse a preliminary injunction the result of a suit brought by Pfizer, Inc asserting that RPI's Quinapril HCI Tablets did not infringe on US Patent No 4,743,450 literally and under the doctrine of equivalents.

The merits of the principal case will now be argued at the District Court in New Jersey where a trial will be held on the merits of Ranbaxy's non-infringement case.

Quinapril HCI Tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of Pfizer (Parke Davis) antihypertensive agent Accupril® Tablets.

Jay Deshmukh, vice president, global intellectual property, said, "The Appeals Court explained that its decision was based on a preliminary record and noted that claim construction, a legal issue, is subject to change based on a more developed factual record. Moreover, the preliminary injunction did not address the invalidity or enforceability of the 450 patent. Accordingly, Ranbaxy intends to vigorously challenge infringement, validity and enforceability of the patent in further proceedings before the district court."