Ranbaxy settles Glaxo patent row, shares jump

Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to settle U.S. litigation on Valtrex, sending its shares up 10 per cent on the day.
The lawsuit was related to Glaxo's patent on the drug, which covered the generic valacyclovir hydrochloride tablets, used to treat herpes infections, Ranbaxy said in a statement.
Under the agreement, Ranbaxy will enter the U.S. market in late 2009 and have 180 days of exclusivity to sell its generic version of the drug.

The market for the drug is estimated at $1.3 billion, said Ranbaxy, which had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2007 for valacyclovir hydrochloride.
Market exclusivity, given to the drug maker that is the first to file (FTF) a challenge to a patent, gives lucrative margins to the generics firm.

"Ranbaxy will continue to pursue a strategy to effectively leverage and monetise its pipeline of FTF opportunities," it said. Ranbaxy's shares were up 8.8 per cent at Rs 371.2 on the BSE in the afternoon trades. They rose as high as Rs 374.60, a gain of 10.1 per cent.