Sanofi's patent dispute with Teva and Amphaster was taken to court.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that the patent of French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE: SNY; Euronext: SAN) for Lovenox is "unenforceable". The Appeals Court affirmed a ruling by the US Federal Court for the Central District of California California. The ruling paves the way for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. to market generic versions of the blood thinner.
Sanofi-Aventis had sued Teva and Amphastar for patent infringement over their generic version of Lovenox, which had $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008, and $4 billion in 2007. The core patent is due to expire in 2012. Sanofi-Aventis is the world's third largest pharmaceutical company
Teva's share rose 2.5% on Nasdaq on Friday to $46.43.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 18, 2008
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