Delhi HC verdict on Januvia boost for Glenmark: Antique

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 pharma analyst, Anmol Ganjoo of Antique Stock Broking said Delhi High court's verdict on Januvia Generic will be a positive for Glenmark Pharma.

"However, if in 12-18 months, you have seen Glenmark gain significant traction in this product then it is obviously negative from an MNC standpoint," he added. Also read: Novartis Glivec verdict sparks rally in Indian pharma cos US pharmaceuticals major Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) had filed a suit in the Delhi High Court against Glenmark for violating its patents on diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet. Ganjoo believes that Merck will contest this order vigorously. Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview on CNBC-TV18 Q: What could the direct relief be for Glenmark now that this news has come through? A: Yes Glenmark can continue to sell the drug. This is a very fast growing market and last year the growth for this in the Indian market was 26 percent and the overall diabetes market is Rs 3000 crore. This directive states that they will be able to take market share until the final adjudication of the patent claim of Glenmark. It is positive news for the company and should help their diabetes effort. Q: What does this actually mean for the Indian patent (IP) regime considering that we just about had that Glivec hearing go through as well? A: Today’s order may just have postponed the final adjudication on who has the strong case. So, purely based on today’s order it is very difficult to take a very broad view on how the IP market is shaping up. However, if in 12-18 months, you have seen Glenmark gain significant traction in this product then it is obviously negative from an MNC standpoint. Q: Do you expect Merck to litigate further and is there any direct impact that you see on the stock now or do you think it is done the kind of movement that the stock is seeing post this news? A: Merck will contest it vigorously because yesterday we saw from their reactions that they have a very strong case and we have to also remember that Sun distributes this for Merck MSD. So, the contest is going to be on and the restrain order has not been passed but surely last has not been heard on this.