Sun Pharma shares plunge on damages sought by Wyeth

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Thursday dropped nearly 3 per cent, as the company said that that US-based Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has sought damages worth $960 million in a patent dispute.

Reacting to the news, the company's shares opened the day on a bearish note and finally ended at Rs 541.45, down 2.49 per cent from the previous on the BSE.

On the NSE also, the stock settled 2.81 per cent lower at Rs 541.05.

Sun Pharma late on Wednesday night said that US-based Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has sought damages related to their ongoing patent dispute over a generic version of Protonix drug.

Protonix is a registered trademark of Wyeth, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2009.

In a regulatory filing issued after the market hours yesterday, Sun Pharma said that Wyeth has submitted to the District Court of New Jersey confidential expert reports claiming damages against Sun Pharma and Teva, arising out of their earlier "at-risk launches".