Center Laboratories Inc (晟德大藥廠) yesterday said the Taipei District Court has ruled in its favor in a contractual dispute with TTY Biopharm Co (台灣東洋藥品), the latest development in a long-standing feud between the two companies.
The court ruled that TTY Biopharm must follow through on its contractual obligations to develop, on behalf of Center Laboratories, a generic version of risperidone, an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia.
The contract states that Center Laboratories would own all rights to risperidone enhanced with TTY Biopharm’s poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microsphere formulation technology to achieve sustained release of the antipsychotic.
Center Laboratories said that the contract was inked in 2010 and that it transferred NT$12.5 million (US$426,359 at the current exchange rate) out of the NT$20 million in funding that was promised to TTY Biopharm, but added that it has not seen tangible development progress from its partner.
Under the terms of the contract, TTY Biopharm was to deliver a test batch of 1,000 risperidone PLGA units and publish mass production specifications to Center Laboratories by the end of 2014.
However, TTY Biopharm has said that the contract was not valid and claimed that risperidone PLGA was part of its own development pipeline, which prompted Center Laboratories to file a lawsuit.
Center Laboratories said that it has over the past 15 years been looking to leverage its position as Taiwan’s biggest oral liquid formulation maker to expand into the specialty field of central nervous system treatments for conditions such as schizophrenia, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The dispute dates back to a discord between a succession of TTY Biopharma chairmen following the departure of Lin Rong-jin (林榮錦) in 2014, who was replaced by Clark Hsiao (蕭英鈞).
Lin, who went on to serve as chairman of Center Laboratories, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in an embezzlement case during his term at TTY Biopharma following a lawsuit initiated by Hsiao.
Lin was accused of ordering a questionable transfer of patents held by TTY Biopharma to a Swiss company he controls.
TTY Biopharma in January appointed former premier Lin Chuan (林全) as chairman, with Hsiao taking on the role of president.
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