Cipla Of India To Confront Roche With Valcyte Copy
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
India's Cipla plans to ramp up a confrontation with F. Hoffman-LaRoche by launching a generic version of the Swiss drug maker's Valcyte (valganciclovir) for treating HIV/AIDS infections. The two companies already are locked in a patent-infringement battle over the Roche drug Tarceva (erlotinib) for treating cancer. A source said Cipla may increase the contention between the two firms by seeking to call its Valcyte copy Valcept, a name so similar to the original it could set off a fight over what is considered in the industry "passing off," a trademark infringement. (Click here for more