Bristol Myers vs Zydus: Cancer drug patent fight heads to Supreme Court
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) is taking its battle with Zydus Lifesciences to the Supreme Court, hoping to block Zydus from selling a biosimilar version of BMS's cancer drug nivolumab.
BMS says Zydus's product copies their patented medicine, while Zydus insists it's not infringing and wants the patent revoked.
What happened in court so far
Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court sided with Zydus, saying "biosimilar" doesn't mean identical and that biosimilarity alone did not establish infringement noting the single-judge injunction lacked the required product-to-claim mapping and that BMS had not made out a prima facie case for an injunction.
The court let Zydus keep selling its drug—provided they maintain and periodically file audited accounts of revenues from ZRC-3276—highlighting how important affordable cancer treatment is for patients.
Now, all eyes are on the Supreme Court hearing set for February 4, 2026.