Roche sues Dr Reddy's over Boniva for osteoporosis

Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Roche is taking legal action against Indian generic manufacturer Dr Reddy's Laboratories in the US to prevent the Indian's pharma group from marketing a generic version of Roche's osteoporosis drug Boniva (ibandronate).

The complaint was filed on 20 September in a New Jersey court. Roche says that Boniva is covered by patents running from 2012 to 2023.

In a statement, Roche said: "This action arises because of Dr Reddy's efforts to gain approval from the FDA to market a generic copy of Roche's Boniva once-monthly drug product prior to the expiration of Roche's patent rights covering it."

Earlier in September, Roche initiated legal action against Israel-headquartered generics giant Teva Pharmaceutical's move to enter the US market with a Boniva copy.

Boniva, which is sold under the name of Bonviva in the EU, racked up sales of CHF 488m in FY06.