Will the way soon be clear for a generic form of Lovenox? Sanofi-Aventis just lost a bid to save its patents on the anticlotting med, as a U.S. appeals court upheld a lower-court ruling that called the patents unenforceable. That court found that Sanofi failed to disclose certain info on its patent applications--"inequitable conduct" that negated their protection.
The ruling is a win for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, which originally challenged the patents. They both applied for FDA approval for copycat forms of the med back in 2003. Lovenox's key patent was set to expire in 2012; Sanofi says it's "considering its legal options."
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