HSP

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) Tuesday said it has now settled patent infringement suits with six generic drug manufacturers over its cancer drug Eloxatin, which will see them stop selling copycat versions of the product in the U.S. from late June and then re-start sales in August 2012.

Sanofi, which last week announced a settlement under those terms with Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA), Germany's Fresenius Kabi Oncology Ltd. (532545.BY) and Novartis AG's (NVS) generics unit Sandoz of Switzerland, said Tuesday it also struck deals with three other generics groups--Hospira Inc's (HSP) Mayne Pharma Ltd, Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc (PRX) and its partner MN Pharmaceuticals, and Iceland-based Actavis.

As a result, the six generic drug makers will stop selling unauthorized versions of Eloxatin, whose generic name is oxaliplatin, in the U.S. between June 30, 2010 and August 9, 2012, after which the companies can sell their products under license.

Sanofi Tuesday said it asked a court to prohibit Sun Pharmaceuticals (524715.BY) from marketing a generic oxaliplatin product over the same period as the other companies. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has ruled that a proposed settlement between Sanofi and Sun is enforceable and the decision is subject to appeal, Sanofi said.

The settlement agreements are subject to review by the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Attorney General for the State of Michigan. Sanofi did not give more details or reveal financial terms of the deals.

Copycat versions of Eloxatin were launched last August in the U.S. after a court there in June ruled that generic drugmakers who had challenged the Eloxatin patent did not infringe Sanofi's patents. That badly hit Sanofi's sales of the drug last year, with generic alternatives causing Sanofi's Eloxatin sales to drop 35% to EUR957 million from a year earlier.

Analysts said the settlements should lead to a sales boost for Sanofi. If the company comes to agreement with Sun in addition to the six other generic manufacturers, JPMorgan analysts said they expect a modest increase in Eloxatin sales in 2011 and 2012 that would increase their estimates of Sanofi's embedded value by 1%. JPMorgan rates Sanofi's shares as overweight.

At 0940 GMT, Sanofi shares traded down 0.7% or EUR0.38 lower at EUR54.78 while the Paris CAC-40 index traded up 0.7%. The shares have risen around 32% in value over the past 12 months.

By Mimosa Spencer, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40 17 17 73; mimosa.spencer@dowjones.com

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