BackBDR Intl to launch first copy of Pfizer’s Sutent after patent revocation
Firm says its generic version will be priced at least 75% lower than the price of Pfizer’s brand
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Mumbai: Two days after India’s patent office revoked patent rights for Pfizer Inc’s liver cancer drug Sutent, local drug maker BDR International Pvt. Ltd said on Wednesday that it was planning to introduce the first generic version of the drug in the local market at a much lower price.
The patent office had on Monday reissued its order revoking the patent on the drug. Two dosage forms of Pfizer’s brand (50 mg and 25 mg) cost the patient Rs61,000 and Rs30,500 respectively for a strip of seven tablets.
BDR International’s technical director Aravind M. Badiger said that its generic version will be priced at least 75% lower than the price of Pfizer’s brand. BDR International will be launching the generic form of the liver cancer drug by March in the local market.
The patent office had in September issued its original order to revoke the patent grant to Sutent on grounds that the drug does not qualify for monopoly rights as it did not involve a new invention. The department had to come out with another order this week after Pfizer challenged the September order on grounds of a procedural lapse.
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