It was a collaboration that would have resulted in a proud first for the Indian pharmaceutical industry, but has landed in a legal tangle instead. Glenmark Pharma has sought that an arbitration panel of the American Arbitration Association issue an interim order to direct its collaborator Napo Pharmaceuticals of the U.S. to comply with the terms of their collaboration agreement. Glenmark, along with Napo and Salix Pharmaceuticals USA, had developed Crofelemer, a molecule initially discovered by Napo and used in treatment of diarrhoea in HIV positive patients. Glenmark entered into an agreement with Napo in July 2005, to synthesize Crofelemer and has successfully extracted and stabilised the compound. However, Napo terminated the agreement on November 10.
