2nd UPDATE: US Appeals Court Rules For Sanofi In Eloxatin Case
10 Setembro 2009 - 2:33PM
Dow Jones News
A federal appeals court ruled for Sanofi-Aventis SA (SNY) on
Thursday in a patent fight with generic drug companies that want to
offer competing versions of Sanofi's colon cancer drug,
Eloxatin.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit threw out a
trial court ruling in favor of the generic competitors, saying the
trial judge misconstrued Sanofi's patent claims.
The appeals court sent the case back for further
proceedings.
Sanofi spokesman Geoffroy Bessaud said, "We are gratified by the
decision and are considering our next steps."
The French drug maker's 2008 U.S. sales of Eloxatin totaled
EUR948 million.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA), Hospira Inc. (HSP)
and Novartis AG's (NVS) Sandoz unit are among those seeking to
offer generic versions of the Sanofi drug.
Shortly after winning at the trial-court level, Teva and Hospira
began shipping their generic versions of Eloxatin.
Hospira spokesman Dan Rosenberg said Thursday that the appeals
court ruling wouldn't affect his company's shipments.
"We're going to keep on shipping," Rosenberg said.
He said Hospira was disappointed in the ruling "but we remain
committed to getting this important product to market."
Spokespeople for Teva and Sandoz didn't immediately respond to
requests for comment.
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222;
brent.kendall@dowjones.com
(Mimosa Spencer contributed to this report.)