The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) initiated a case against Akrikhin for producing an analog of the diabetes drug "Forxiga". The original drug is protected by a patent owned by AstraZeneca, which has already complained to the IC about the violation of its rights.
The FAS initiated a case on the grounds of violation of the law “On Protection of Competition” by the Russian pharmaceutical company Akrikhin. The corresponding order was signed by the head of the service Maxim Shaskolsky on July 12, RBC reports.
The Russian company put into circulation 22 batches of the diabetes drug “Fordiglif” - an analog of the original drug “Forxiga” of Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca specified that the drug “Forхiga” is protected by a patent until May 2028.
A representative of Akrikhin told RBC that the company is aware of the case, but has not yet familiarized itself with its materials, so he declined to comment.
Initially “Forsiga” was protected by a patent until 2023, then AstraZeneca registered a new patent until 2028. The second patent was tried to challenge the Slovenian company - the manufacturer of generics KRKA, but it was denied. “Fordiglyph” was released for sale in April 2024, in connection with which AstraZeneca complained to the Investigative Committee against Akrikhin
On July 4, AstraZeneca appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation in connection with the procurement of the drug Tagrisso (Osimertinib) by state authorities. In the company's report it was stated that in June 2024 several contracts with various government customers were concluded for the supply of Osimertinib, despite the fact that the drug is not in circulation and is prohibited for circulation without the consent of the patent holder (AstraZeneca).
According to the analytical company DSM Group, in 2023, 5.6 mln packs of Forxiga were sold in Russia for 15.2 bln rubles. Over the last two years, the sales volume of the drug has tripled in physical terms and quadrupled in monetary terms. More than half of all sales of Forxiga is accounted for by state purchases, which are carried out to provide free therapy to beneficiaries. The remaining part is sold in pharmacies, where patients purchase the drug on their own.
The production volumes of For[iga now “fully meet the needs of the Russian healthcare system”, AstraZeneca assures. The foreign company produces the drug at the company's own plant in the Kaluga region. In 2023, 222 million tablets of the drug were produced.
Source: RBC
