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Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 8, 2026

 

--Sun Pharma arm moves SC to bar Intas Pharma from selling cancer drug 

--Sun Pharma arm to SC:Intas' Bevatas drug name similar to co's drug Bevetex 

 

By Surya Tripathi

 

NEW DELHI – Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., has moved the Supreme Court seeking to restrain Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd. from manufacturing, selling and marketing Bevatas drug, as it was similar in name to the petitioner's drug Bevetex, a scheduled drug used for treatment of breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Sun Pharma Laboratories has challenged a Delhi High Court's May order that allowed Intas Pharmaceuticals to manufacture, sell and market Bevatas drug.

 

The case has its genesis in Sun Pharma Laboratories coming across the publication of the application for registration of Bevatas trademark filed by Intas Pharmaceuticals on a proposed-to-be-used basis. In 2017, Sun Pharma Laboratories came across Intas Pharmaceuticals' drug under Bevatas name being sold in Delhi.

 

Intas Pharmaceuticals has unlawfully adopted its trademark, Sun Pharma Laboratories said. Such adoption of a similar name also amounts to unfair trade practice, unfair competition and dilution, said Sun Pharma Laboratories. If the wrong drug is given to the cancer patient undergoing treatment, it could lead to disastrous consequences, and hence, it is in public interest that the use of Bevatas mark is restrained, said Sun Pharma Laboratories.

 

Contesting Sun Pharma Laboratories' claims, Intas Pharmaceuticals said that its Bevatas mark has been used continuously, openly, and extensively and has acquired substantial goodwill and reputation in the market. It is stated to be the market leader among products containing the molecule 'Bevacizumab' in India, with a market share of approximately 22%, and the drug has been administered to over 75,000 cancer patients, with about 12,000 patients currently undergoing treatment, said Intas Pharmaceuticals.

 

The Delhi High Court had ruled that the two drugs sold under the marks Bevatas and Bevetex, though broadly falling within the category of anti-cancer pharmaceutical preparations, are distinct and dissimilar in composition, therapeutic purpose, indication, dosage and mode of administration, and were admittedly not therapeutic substitutes of each other, said the court. The two drugs are, therefore, not identical goods or even closely similar goods, it had said.  

 

The suffix 'Bev' and 'Beva' are "publici juris" for anti-cancer drugs containing the molecule 'Bevacizumab', said the high court. The rival marks, when compared as a whole, are neither visually, structurally nor phonetically similar, and thus Intas Pharmaceuticals' mark does not constitute infringement of Sun Pharma Laboratories' registered trademark, said the high court. The suit instituted by Sun Pharma Laboratories was not in public interest and was pursued solely to protect its commercial interest in its mark 'Bevetex', said the high court. 

 

Sun Pharma Laboratories was aware, prior to the filing of its suit, that Intas Pharmaceuticals' drug was not a therapeutic substitute for the former's drug and therefore, there was no diversion of sales or any commercial loss to Sun Pharma, said the high court. Sun Pharma Laboratories at trial failed to establish, by any cogent oral or documentary evidence, any likelihood of confusion among the relevant class of public, including oncologists, chemists, trained nurses, patients and attendants, said the bench of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora and Justice V. Kameswar Rao of the high court. Challenging the high court's order, Sun Pharma Laboratories moved the apex court.

 

At 1356 IST, shares of Sun Pharma Laboratories traded 1.0% lower at INR 1,883.70 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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