Several cheaper generics of semaglutide, the blockbuster weight-loss drug, launched in India last week, though Dr Reddy’s Laboratories’ (DRL) generic version, under the Olymviq brand, will not hit the market until Friday.
On Wednesday, DRL gave an oral undertaking to the Delhi High Court that it will maintain status quo till March 27 — that is, no manufacture and release in the market, either directly or indirectly, until Friday, under the brand name of ‘Olymviq’.
The oral assurance given by the Indian generic drugmaker came in a suit by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk filed before the HC. Alleging trademark infringement of its blockbuster semaglutide drug ‘Ozempic’, Novo Nordisk flagged that DRL has released its generic version of the injectable semaglutide under the branding of ‘Olymviq’.
However, DRL can sell the drug under the other two brand names — Obeda and Mashlo. Last week, it launched its generic semaglutide formulation in India under the brand name Obeda.
A question of phonetics
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Novo Nordisk before Justice Jyoti Singh on Wednesday, sought an immediate interim injunction, objecting to the phonetically similar sounding brand name DRL has chosen for the product.
According to DRL, it has launched the drug only under the brand name Obeda while admitting that the company will be releasing the drug under three brand names. Its public announcement on March 21 marked the launch of drug under the brand name ‘Obeda’.
Arguing that “there can’t be a more blatant, over-clever way of doing it”, the Danish firm accused DRL that there “cannot be a more dishonest” way of branding the product.
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Citing that Novo Nordisk has enjoyed the trademark from 2014, including in India where it launched in December last year, Singhvi further argued, “Clearly, you’re following my invention (of the word)… it is an invented word, not a common parlance… [The syllables of] ‘O-im-ic’… I ask the question, why would anyone have this after my transborder reputation, after my launch in India? Common sense must prevail.”
Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for DRL, however, contended that it is not an ordinary drug that is purchased over the counter that it will cause confusion.
Further, he said, there cannot be any confusion as “even if the trademark is identical, which is not the case here, the house mark, particularly well-known housemark [of DRL] will make the distinction”.
“This [Olymviq] might give an idea of the Olympics, not really Ozempic,” Sethi added.
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Justice Singh, however, orally indicated that in the court’s opinion, there is a phonetic similarity.
Addressing Sethi, Justice Singh orally opined, “Why have you chosen to come so close [to the Ozempic mark]? I’ll share this with you. According to me, there’s a phonetic similarity [with the Ozempic mark] and in pharma, it’s a threshold I would not like to cross.”
Orally inquiring about DRL’s stance, on whether it is amenable to changing its name or to maintain status quo, the court indicated that if not, it will pass an order staying the use of DRL’s mark of Olymviq for the drug.
With the court urging the two companies to “co-exist peacefully” in the market, DRL gave the court an oral assurance that it will maintain status quo until the next hearing on Friday and will not release more of the injectables under the branding of ‘Olymviq’ in the market or among distributors.
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The patent held over the GLP-1 class of drugs’ semaglutide by Novo Nordisk in India expired on March 20. The very next day, DRL announced the launch of its generic version of the blockbuster drug for Diabetes Type-2 and obesity, branded as ‘Obeda’, in the Indian market.
Not only DRL, a slew of Indian generic drugmakers are in the race to launch their versions of the semaglutide. Prior to that, since last year, the two pharma companies have been locked in litigation over patent infringement of the drug.
