Sanofi drags Hospira and Apotex (NYSE:SNY)

Sanofi-Aventis SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY), France’s biggest pharmaceutical group has accused Hospira Inc and Canada’s Apotex Inc of infringing patents for the cancer drug Taxotere. Sanofi-Aventis has said that both the companies have tried to copy their products. Earlier Sanofi-Aventis have filed separate complaints against Hospira Inc and Apotex Inc that they have violated the patent laws and have attempted to duplicate their top ranging product that is developed and marketed for the treatment of cancer patients. Though the market reacted sharply after the news broke into the market, but there was not much of fluctuation in the shares of Sanofi-Aventis at the end of the day.

Sanofi-Aventis is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in France and globally as well. The company is into the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of healthcare products. The company specializes in six therapeutic areas like thrombosis, cardiovascular, metabolic disorders, oncology, central nervous system and internal medicine. Hospira and Apotex have mentioned that Sanofi-Aventis patents are not valid because the technology and formulations are not new and therefore the information would be available publicly too by any skilled chemist. However, Sanofi-Aventis would like that the Court rule out both the companies that they have violated the Food and Drug Administration law by infringing their patents.

Taxotere which is chemically better known as docetaxel is a clinically well-established anti-mitotic chemotherapy medication used for the treatment of breast, ovarian and non-small cell lung cancer. The drug has an approved claim for treatment of patients, who have locally advanced, or metastatic breast or those who have undergone chemotherapies but failed to stop cancer progression or relapsed. Clinical data has shown docetaxel to have cytotoxic activity against breast, colorectal, lung, ovarian, liver head and neck cancers. Currently, the consolidated case is in the District of Delaware (Wilmington).