As AstraZeneca keeps Tagrisso generics at bay, India grants patent for lung cancer drug nano-formulation

In what is being seen as a double blow to UK pharma major AstraZeneca's (LSE: AZN) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug Tagrisso (osimertinib mesylate), the Indian Patent Office has granted a patent to the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, for its nano-formulation of drug osimertinib mesylate.

The patent grant comes months after the British drugmaker staved off severe generic competition from Alembic Pharma (BOM: 533573), India-based Cadila Healthcare's (BOM: 532321) US subsidiary, Zydus Pharma over the same patent, as well as Cadila Healthcare and MSN Laboratories.

The patent application has been cleared with nine claims filed by the NIPER, Hyderabad, for its nano-formulation which claims to address the risk of acquired resistance against the therapy in the first year of treatment.