Informist, Wednesday, Jul. 9, 2025

NEW DELHI – Hearing a permanent injunction suit by Alkem Laboratories Ltd., the Delhi High Court on Wednesday said Allchem Lifescience Ltd. had not given any undertaking to the court in April that it will not enter the business-to-consumer model in the future. The high court's clarification came after Allchem informed them about the court's previous order being misrepresented by Alkem Laboratories before the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Allchem Lifescience said that while the parties were in the middle of mediation, Alkem Laboratories wrote a letter to the market regulator on Jun. 13. In the letter, Alkem Laboratories misrepresented the high court's order and it was wrongly projected that Allchem Lifescience had undertaken to not enter into the business-to-consumer model in the future. 

On Wednesday, the high court also said that if Allchem Lifescience enters into the business of pharmaceutical products, Alkem Laboratories can file an injunction application with the court. Further, till date, it has not passed any order to stay the initial public offering of Allchem Lifescience and the interim injunction application by Alkem Laboratories was still pending for adjudication, said the court.

In April, Alkem Laboratories had filed a permanent injunction suit against Allchem Lifescience regarding the use of former's 'Alkem' trademark. Alkem Laboratories said Allchem Lifescience has used a name similar to its trademark and the company's initial public offering would create confusion in people's minds.

Refusing to pass an interim injunction order or halt the initial public offering, Justice Amit Bansal in April had noted Allchem's undertaking that in all future communications, including those relating to its initial public offering, the company would clearly state that it has no connection with Alkem Laboratories. In various communications, Allchem Lifescience has said it provides raw materials for active pharmaceutical ingredients and does not directly deal with pharmaceuticals, the court said. The court had referred the suit filed by Alkem Laboratories against Allchem Lifescience for mediation, and appointed advocate Sudhanshu Batra as the mediator.

In March, Allchem Lifescience had filed a draft red herring prospectus with SEBI for an initial public offering comprising a fresh issue of shares of up to INR 1.9 billion and an offer for sale of 7.16 million shares. The company said in the draft papers that it would use INR 1.3 billion of the net proceeds to partially or fully repay some of its borrowings.

Alkem Laboratories had argued that Allchem going ahead with the initial public offering would cause the petitioner a financial loss, and urged the court to direct Allchem to not proceed with the offering without making changes to its name. Allchem argued that while Alkem Laboratories is a pharmaceutical company, the respondent only provides raw materials to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients, and so there is little scope for confusion in the minds of the public.

At 1358 IST, shares of Alkem Laboratories were flat at INR 4,800.50 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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