Debiopharm appeals to the Supreme Court regarding Elplat

Family-owned Swiss drugmaker Debiopharm International has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of Japan against the decision from the IP High Court (a special branch of the Tokyo High Court), according to which the generic products of Elplat (Oxaliplatin) commercialized by Nippon Kayaku have not infringed the Japanese patent JP 4430229 , which is owned by Debiopharm and exclusively licensed to Yakult Honsha in Japan.

Debiopharm continues to take any and all reasonable legal actions against any activity that infringes the intellectual property rights owned by Debiopharm and exclusively licensed to Yakult.

Elplat is an anticancer platinum drug, for which Yakult acquired development and commercialization rights in Japan from Debiopharm in 1997. Elplat was approved for the indication for the treatment of "curatively unresectable advanced/recurrent colorectal cancer" in March 2005, and launched on the market in April of the same year. The drug has since gained approval of added cancer indications.