Dr Reddy’s Labs to change drug name to ‘Olymra’ amid court scrutiny: Report
The company informed the court that it would propose a new brand name following the judge’s observation that the existing name could lead to confusion in a pharmaceutical setting.
New Delhi: Major drug maker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it will change the brand name of its semaglutide drug from ‘Olymviq’ to ‘Olymra’, a report said on Friday.
The company informed the court that it would propose a new brand name following the judge’s observation that the existing name could lead to confusion in a pharmaceutical setting.
The dispute comes as India opens up to generic versions of semaglutide following patent expiry, triggering competition among drugmakers and disputes over branding.
The company also said it is the first Indian firm to receive approval from the Drugs Controller General of India for generic semaglutide.
The case centres on whether ‘Olymviq’ is too similar to ‘Ozempic’, a widely used drug for diabetes and weight management, as per NDTV Profit.
The company earlier announced that it has launched its injectable semaglutide under the brand name ‘Obeda’, marking an important step in expanding access to GLP-1 receptor agonist-based therapy for the management of Type 2 diabetes in India.
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“With this launch, we aim to expand access to advanced diabetes therapies and address unmet patient needs in India,” said Erez Israeli, Chief Executive Officer of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
During the hearing, the court flagged the phonetic and visual similarity between the two names, noting that such resemblance could lead to confusion among patients, doctors and pharmacists, the report added.
Earlier, the court had directed the company to halt the rollout and sale of the product over concerns of similarity with Novo Nordisk’s “Ozempic”.
Novo Nordisk markets semaglutide under multiple brands, including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus.
Shares of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories traded around 2 per cent lower at Rs 1,274.75, an intraday low on the BSE as of 2 pm.
