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HC reserves order on Viagra dispute

The Delhi high court on Wednesday reserved its order on Indian pharmaceutical company Cadila Healthcare Ltd's appeal for vacating the interim stay on manufacturing and selling of the anti-impotence drug Penegra which the American multinational Pfizer claimed was similar to its wonder drug Viagra.

A division bench comprising Justices Manmohan Sarin and J D Kapoor reserved its order on CHL's appeal seeking to set aside a single bench's earlier order restraining the Indian company from manufacturing and selling Penegra.

Cadila's counsel Kapil Sibal and Rajiv Nayar contended that the ex-parte stay order was granted by the court without taking into consideration the fact that Viagra was not being marketed by Pfizer in India and the US multinational had filed the suit after an "inordinate delay".

Sibal contended that the stay order would adversely affect the business prospect of Cadila as its product Penegra was fetching the company a revenue of Rs 8 million per month.

"Pfizer brought the matter to the court five months after Cadila introduced Penegra in January this year. This amounts to filing the suit after an inordinate delay," Sibal said.

Refuting Cadila's contention on delayed suit, Pfizer's counsel Chander M Lall said the delay was no ground for defence in the case. Cadila had been marketing a product which was "deceptively similar to that of Viagra in shape and colour".

Lall said after Penegra was introduced in the market, Pfizer had made thorough research before coming to the court, and therefore the argument of delay did not hold good.

On Cadila's contention that Viagra was not being marketed in India, Lall said Pfizer had applied for registration of its trade mark in India in 1996, but they have not yet started marketing Viagra here due to some strategic reasons.

Pfizer has the international goodwill and reputation and a product, which is similar to its drug would certainly affect it whether it has "physical or legal" presence in India, Lall said.

The company said it had spent millions of dollars on research and development of Viagra, which has the generic chemical name "sildnafil citrate".

It helps in curing erectile dysfunction or male impotence, while Cadila was "copying its product and has described it as Indian Viagra," Lall said.

Claiming development of Viagra as a major medical breakthrough, the US company had said Cadila should not be permitted to take undue advantage by resorting to unfair means.

Pfizer had alleged the unauthorised use of the "Penegra" mark and other wrongful conduct have significantly injured its interests. "The performance or lack of performance of the Cadila product" could adversely affect the public acceptance of Viagra, the pharmaceutical giant had said.

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