Dr. Reddy’s Settles Patent Suit With Celgene Over Cancer Drug
The firm settled a litigation with Celgene for patents for generic version of a prescription medicine used to treat blood cancer.
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. settled its litigation with Celgene Corp. for patents for the generic version of a prescription medicine used to treat blood cancer in a potential boost to its earnings.
Settling all outstanding claims in the litigation, Celgene, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, agreed to provide Dr. Reddy’s a license to sell volume-limited amounts of Revlimid or generic lenalidomide capsules in the U.S. after March 2022, according to its filing. The company didn’t disclose agreed percentages.
The Hyderabad-based drugmaker is also allowed to sell these capsules in the U.S. without volume limitation from Jan. 31, 2026.
“We’re pleased with the settlement agreement and look forward to bringing a generic version of lenalidomide to the market soon subject to regulatory approval for benefit of patients,” Marc Kikuchi, chief executive officer of company’s North America generics, was quoted as saying in a statement.
Analysts expect the development to be positive for Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories.
The move might add up to $800 million to the company’s topline, according to Vishal Manchanda, research analyst at Nirmal Bang Securities. But this is assuming that the settlement terms are in line with that of Natco Pharma Ltd., he said.
Natco Pharma was the first generic drugmaker to settle its litigation with Celgene over the gRevlimid. Celgene, had in December 2015, agreed to provide Natco Pharma with a license to manufacture and sell unlimited quantity of generic lenalidomide in the U.S. from Jan. 31, 2026.
B&K Securities considers the approval to boost Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories’ earnings in FY23 and beyond. It may, however, be slightly negative for Natco Pharma, the brokerage said.
Prabhudas Lilladher, however, said the move won’t have a big impact on the company’s topline.
“Not much of an impact on company's topline since by the time the process starts by 2022 a lot of other players might see similar settlements. Another five to six players are in the litigation process,” Surajit Pal, research analyst at the brokerage, told BloombergQuint. “Though the market size is pretty big there might be around six to eight players, so not much positive impact for the company.”