Pharma Bio-World - National, May 2009

Troikaa Gets Patent for Diclofenac Injection

Troikaa Pharmaceuticals, recently received patent for its novel high concentration diclofenac injection- Dynapar AQ. The patent was granted to Troikaa by the Indian Patent office.

The company had applied for the patent in February 2005 but grant by Indian patent was delayed due to a series of oppositions filed by Indian pharma companies.

On the other hand, the leading multinational, whose diclofenac injection is ranked at number 1 on ORG-IMS, and which is steadily losing market share, displayed its respect for intellectual property by not opposing the patent.

“Under the Indian Patent Act, a patent cannot be granted, till each opponent has been given a hearing by the Patent Office. Since each opposition was filed subsequent to the previous one being overcome by Troikaa, the process of granting the patent went beyond the stipulated 1 year period from the date of the patent application being published in the Patent Office Journal. Troikaa successfully defended all the oppositions and was finally granted the Patent in March 2009, four years after applying for it,” said Mr. Ketan Patel, Managing Director, Troikaa Pharmaceuticals.

Simultaneous to the Indian patent application, the company had initiated the process of obtaining patents for the said invention in 99 countries, at World Intellectual Property Office, Geneva .Thereafter, the company has dealt with the patent offices in each of the 99 countries to comply with the necessary procedures so as to be granted the patent in respective countries. So far, the patent has not been opposed in any other country.

Till date, Troikaa has been granted the patent in 29 countries and the process of obtaining patents in the rest of the countries is nearing completion. The legal expenses incurred by Troikaa by the time the global patenting process is over, will be about Rs 4 crores.

Dynapar AQ Injection has become a commercial success and is now ranked second in the diclofenac injections category, on ORG-IMS with annual sales of 21 crores, enjoying a growth of 50 % year on year basis. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India, has also conferred the DSIR-National Award for Research & Development to Troikaa, for indigenously developing this world class product.

The company is now in the process of launching Dynapar AQ in several countries across the world either directly or by out-licensing it to other companies in the important markets of the world.