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Informist, Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

 

--SC allows Intas Pharma to sell cancer drug in Sun Pharma arm trademark case 

--CONTEXT: Sun Pharma arm moved SC to stop Intas' sale of similar named drug 

 

By Surya Tripathi

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Monday allowed Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to manufacture, sell and market Bevatas drug, rejecting objections by Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., in a trademark infringement case. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said that he saw no grounds to interfere with the Delhi High Court's May judgment, except adverse observations made against Sun Pharma Laboratories.

 

Sun Pharma had sought to restrain Intas Pharmaceuticals from marketing the 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. The apex court said the likelihood of confusion appears to be too remote in the current case. "Scheduled drugs require qualified pharmacists to administer drugs. We have two layers of vetting (for giving these drugs," said the top court. Further, the apex court said that it couldn't dissect registered trademarks of companies. 

 

The case has its genesis in Sun Pharma Laboratories coming across 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 had unlawfully adopted its trademark, Sun Pharma Laboratories said, adding that such adoption of a similar name amounted to unfair trade practice, unfair competition and dilution. If the wrong drug is given to a cancer patient undergoing treatment, it could lead to disastrous consequences, and hence, it was in public interest that the use of Bevatas mark is restrained, Sun Pharma Laboratories said.

 

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

 

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, were distinct and dissimilar in composition, therapeutic purpose, indication, dosage and mode of administration, and were admittedly not therapeutic substitutes of each other. The two drugs were, therefore, not identical goods or even closely similar goods, it had said.  

 

The suffix 'Bev' and 'Beva' were "publici juris" for anti-cancer drugs containing the molecule 'Bevacizumab', the high court said. The rival marks, when compared as a whole, were neither visually, structurally nor phonetically similar, and thus Intas Pharmaceuticals' mark did not constitute infringement of Sun Pharma Laboratories' registered trademark, the high court said. 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. 

 

Prior to the filing of its suit, Sun Pharma Laboratories was aware 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. At a trial, Sun Pharma Laboratories 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 1221 IST, shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. were up 0.9% at INR 1,959.30 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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