The Mumbai police have initiated an investigation into the alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating case filed against the multinational company Novartis and its top executives, by the Mumbai-based Wanbury Ltd.
The additional chief metropolitan magistrate in Mumbai, had recently ordered the police to register a first information report after a complaint filed by Wanbury Ltd, one of the leading pharma SMEs in India, in connection with cancellation of a marketing and distribution agreement between the two companies for a cough and cold drug, Triaminic.
Sources close to the development said that as part of the investigation, the police have already questioned the top brass of the multinational company.
Novartis spokesperson did not comment as the matter was sub-judice. In the criminal complaint, Wanbury had accused Novartis and its top executives-- Daniel Vasella, chairman and CEO of Novartis International AG; Erwin Schillinger, chairman of Novartis India; Holger Kunze, director of Novartis Healthcare; Nico Sieben, group compliance officer of Novartis International AG; Asha Mirchandani, executive finance director of Novartis India and H K Maniar, company secretary, for using fraudulent practices for breaking an existing marketing agreement.
According to Ashok Shinkar, chief financial officer, Wanbury, the court had found prima facie evidence of malafide intentions of cheating and fraud by officials of Novartis.
Wanbury sources said Novartis, despite an eight-year contract with the company to distribute Triaminic, had stopped distribution and began distributing another product-- T-Minic, which is similar to Triaminic, in the Indian market.
It may be mentioned that Novartis had a couple of years ago asked the Indian companies to withdraw their low-cost cancer drug from the market to respect the exclusive marketing right (EMR) secured by the company for its cancer drug-- Glivac.
