Novartis accused of using stolen trade secrets

Novartis faces a legal battle over one of its antibiotics Keystone

British drug giant, GlaxoSmithKline, is suing its Swiss competitor Novartis, which it accuses of using a stolen strain of bacteria to replicate a Glaxo antibiotic.

Glaxo on Thursday confirmed that it has filed lawsuits against Novartis and its unit Geneva Pharmaceuticals, along with firms from Germany, India and Israel.

Novartis, which says it will fight the suit, is alleged to have produced generic copies of Glaxo’s antibiotic, Augmentin.

Alan Chandler, a Glaxo spokesman, said the company had recently carried out scientific testing on competitors’ version of the drug, and found evidence of a key ingredient made using a strain of bacteria developed by Glaxo.

“I can confirm that lawsuits were filed on August 9. Our intent is to stop the use of Glaxo’s stolen trade secrets,” Chandler said.

“The derivation of the particular strain is particular to Glaxo – it hasn’t been made available to third parties.”

The lawsuit was filed in a Colorado court.

Novartis unruffled

Mark Hill, a Novartis spokesman, said the action posed no great threat to the company.

“We’re confident that the lawsuit will show that the Novartis companies have acted in a legally and ethically correct manner,” Hill said.

Glaxo is demanding damages for lost profits.

Augmentin, the company’s best-selling drug, lost US patent protection in May. Glaxo has seen its share price fall by 20 per cent since then.

swissinfo with agencies