Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited has prevailed in the patent infringement lawsuit brought by GlaxoSmithKline relating to its cefuroxime axetil product, a generic version of GSK's antibiotic "Ceftin”, a company release said.

GSK brought the matter before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in October of 2000. The District Court originally granted GSK a preliminary injunction that initially kept Ranbaxy from marketing its antibiotic. However, in 2001, Ranbaxy prevailed on its appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Ranbaxy commercially launched its product after that Court vacated the preliminary injunction. Now, after a full trial, the district court determined that Ranbaxy's product does not infringe GSK's patent rights and Ranbaxy is not required to pay any damages to GSK, the release added.

Jay R. Deshmukh, vice president, Intellectual Property, Worldwide at Ranbaxy, stated, “The victory is the result of our close collaboration with our attorneys at Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, including Darrell L. Olson and William R. Zimmerman among others, who vigorously defended Ranbaxy's interests in this matter."