Patent infringement: HC orders Triveni Chemicals to pay Rs 2 cr to Pfizer

Pfizer Inc. and its group companies had filed a suit in the court against Triveni Interchem Private Limited & others accusing the for infringing their patent(IN 218291) for the compound Palbociclib

The Delhi High Court recently asked a private company to pay Rs 2 crore in damages to pharmaceutical company Pfizer for patent infringement.

Pfizer Inc. and its group companies had filed a suit in the court against Triveni Interchem Private Limited & others accusing the latter for infringing their patent(IN 218291) for the compound Palbociclib. 

The private entities(Triveni entities) were found to advertise and offer for sale generic Palbociclib in API form on their own websites and on IndiaMART (e-commerce platform), without any permission or authorisation from Pfizer, Advocates Pravin Anand along with Tusha Malhotra and Richa Bhargava, who were representing Pfizer told the court. 

The High Court had on October 21, 2021 granted an injunction in favour of Pfizer but the pharma company said they had found that the private entities had not stopped the sale of the compound Palbociclib. It claimed it had found that the entities were selling the same compound in a new packaging and through another channel.

Pfizer filed a contempt application against the activities of the Triveni entities and the High Court on July 7, 2022 observed that Triveni entities were in contempt of the injunction order. 

Even after this, the infringing products were still found to be available on Connect2India (e-commerce platform), Pfizer alleged. 

The court on December 14, 2022 held Triveni entities and their Director Kamlesh Singh guilty of contempt of the court’s order and on January 24, 2023 the Hon’ble Court directed them to pay Pfizer 2 crores within a period of two weeks, failing which, Singh would lodged in Tihar jail for two weeks.

“The court deems it appropriate to dispose of this application by directing Kamlesh Singh, the director of Defendants 1 and 2 to pay, to the plaintiff, an amount of Rs  2,00,00,000/- within a period of two weeks from today, failing which he shall be taken into custody and detained in a civil prison for a period of two weeks at Tihar Jail, Delhi,” the order said.