Reuters, New Delhi :
An Indian court granted U.S. pharmaceuticals firm Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) (PFIZ.NS) Indian unit a stay order on Monday, pending a further hearing, on a government ban on its popular cough syrup Corex, two lawyers representing the drugmaker told Reuters.
India’s health ministry banned the combination of chlorpheniramine maleate and codeine syrup, which Pfizer sells as the cough syrup Corex, in a notice over the weekend saying it could pose a risk to humans.
The New Delhi High Court granted Pfizer a stay, saying the government had not issued the company a “show cause notice” before banning the medicine, the lawyers said, declining to be named.
The next hearing by on Pfizer’s plea is slated for March 21.
The Indian unit of Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), which sells the same combination under the brand Phensedyl, also filed a writ petition at the same court that will come up for hearing on Tuesday, local television channels said.
Sanjay Jain, a lawyer representing the health ministry, wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Pfizer’s Indian business said earlier on Monday it had stopped selling Corex, and expected its profit to be hit, as the brand generated sales of about $26 million in the nine months through December. Its shares closed down 9 percent in Mumbai, before the stay order was issued.
Abbott’s Phensedyl commands around a third of India’s cough syrup market and makes up over 3 percent of the company’s $1 billion in revenue in India. The shares of Abbott’s Indian arm fell about 3 percent after it said it would comply with the ban.
Both companies declined to comment on the cases.
An Indian court granted U.S. pharmaceuticals firm Pfizer Inc’s (PFE.N) (PFIZ.NS) Indian unit a stay order on Monday, pending a further hearing, on a government ban on its popular cough syrup Corex, two lawyers representing the drugmaker told Reuters.
India’s health ministry banned the combination of chlorpheniramine maleate and codeine syrup, which Pfizer sells as the cough syrup Corex, in a notice over the weekend saying it could pose a risk to humans.
The New Delhi High Court granted Pfizer a stay, saying the government had not issued the company a “show cause notice” before banning the medicine, the lawyers said, declining to be named.
The next hearing by on Pfizer’s plea is slated for March 21.
The Indian unit of Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N), which sells the same combination under the brand Phensedyl, also filed a writ petition at the same court that will come up for hearing on Tuesday, local television channels said.
Sanjay Jain, a lawyer representing the health ministry, wasn’t immediately available to comment.
Pfizer’s Indian business said earlier on Monday it had stopped selling Corex, and expected its profit to be hit, as the brand generated sales of about $26 million in the nine months through December. Its shares closed down 9 percent in Mumbai, before the stay order was issued.
Abbott’s Phensedyl commands around a third of India’s cough syrup market and makes up over 3 percent of the company’s $1 billion in revenue in India. The shares of Abbott’s Indian arm fell about 3 percent after it said it would comply with the ban.
Both companies declined to comment on the cases.
