An Indian court has ruled in favour of local drugmaker Cipla in a patent infringement case filed by Switzerland’s Roche Holding AG over Cipla’s cancer drug Erlocip, a senior executive of the Indian company said. The Delhi High Court made the ruling a week before India’s Supreme Court is due to begin hearing a patent plea by another Swiss drugmaker, Novartis AG, over its cancer drug Glivec. That case is expected to set a precedent for the Indian drug market, where major western companies are fighting to protect their intellectual property. “The court judgement says we have not infringed any patent,” S. Radhakrishnan, a director on Cipla’s board, told Reuters late on Friday after the Delhi High Court’s ruling.
