New Delhi, February 11 The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to restrain Zydus Lifesciences from selling its affordable, generic biosimilar of Nivolumab, a life-saving cancer drug registered by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS).
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a plea filed by BMS seeking to restrain Zydus from selling the biosimilar drug.
The bench directed BMS to conduct a direct comparison of the Zydus product with its patented drug and stated that, based on the outcome of the exercise, the company may approach the high court for interim relief.
The bench ordered that a sample of the Zydus product be supplied to BMS within 24 hours for the purpose of direct comparison.
On January 12, the Delhi High Court allowed Zydus to sell and market its biosimilar version of the anti-cancer drug in the domestic market, citing public interest and the need to improve patient access to life-saving medicines.
This was to overturn an interim injunction granted in July 2025, when a single judge restrained Zydus from marketing its biosimilar on grounds of patent infringement.
Zydus was allowed to market its biosimilar drug until the BMS patent expires in May 2026.
"If the order remained in place for one-and-a-half years, why cannot it be in place for the last four months, until the expiry of the patent on May 2?" asked the counsel for Zydus.
"I am giving them this life-saving drug for Rs 30,000 per vial, while he is charging Rs 1,08,000 per vial. Anybody with cancer needs 12 doses. In generic medicine, I am the third-largest in India," the lawyer said.
"You can be adequately compensated at any stage. See, the ones who need this medicine will not be able to get yours," the court told the counsel for BMS.
The high court had earlier reasoned its order by ruling in favour of public interest, as it noted that withholding such a life-saving drug from wider public access can cause irreparable prejudice to lakhs of lives.
The court also noted that as hardly four months remain for the patent to expire, not restraining the product any further protects the interest of both sides and makes the drug accessible to those who desperately need it.