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US Court Resolves Sanofi-aventis Eloxatin Patent Issue

Sanofi-aventis, a French drug maker, has emerged victorious in a patent infringement lawsuit in US court against Sun Pharmaceuticals, which has now been ceased from selling Sanofi-aventis' Eloxatin drug (oxaliplatin), indicated for the treatment of colon cancer.

Earlier, Sanofi-Aventis has settled three lawsuits in the US over Eloxatin against some generics manufacturers namely Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Fresenius Kabi (formerly Dabur), Sandoz, Mayne/Hospira, MN/Par and Actavis, some of which are selling infringing generic Oxaliplatin products.

Under the terms of these settlement agreements, the generic manufacturers are expected to cease selling their infringing generic Oxaliplatin products in the US from June 30, 2010 to August 9, 2012 at which time the generic manufacturers would be authorised to sell generic Oxaliplatin products under a license, before expiry of the patents at issue. All of the settlement provisions, including the dates noted above, are subject to contingencies.

The lawsuits relate to the quality and formulation of Oxaliplatin, available in the US under the brand name Eloxatin. The settlement agreements are subject to review by the Federal Trade Commission, the US Department of Justice and the Attorney General for the State of Michigan.