The Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, or SIPA, ruled in favor of Takeda Pharmaceutical on Feb 15 last year in a patent infringement case involving the patented dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitor with Patent No ZL201110004223.1.

The dispute arose when China National Medicines Guorui Pharmaceutical Co Ltd listed its Benzoic Acid Alogliptin Tablets on the Shanghai municipal medicine procurement service and supervision information system without Takeda's permission.

Takeda said Guorui Pharma's actions infringed on claims 1 and 2 of their patent by effectively promising to sell the contested product.

In its defense, Guorui Pharma argued that its actions were merely part of a legal administrative approval process for marketing the drug and did not equate to a sales promise, as the product had only been posted for regulatory public disclosure and the company had not yet engaged in any price negotiations with medical institutions.

The authority determined that Guorui Pharma's actions amounted to an unauthorized sales promise under the protection of Takeda's active patent, leading to a direct patent rights infringement.

Consequently, Guorui Pharma was ordered to immediately cease its sales promise and withdraw the product from the system. The decision is said to highlight the rigorous enforcement of patent laws within the pharmaceuticals industry.