Sanofi Files Suit Against Merck, Claiming Patent Infringements -Update
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 11:34 AM ET 9/19/2016
Symbol Last Price Change
SNYNF 77.31down 0 (0%)
MRK 61.7315down -0.5485 (-0.88%)
SNY 38.91 +0.48 (+1.25%)
QUOTES AS OF 11:23:42 AM ET 09/15/2016
PARIS-- Sanofi SA(SNYNF) said it filed a lawsuit against Merck & Co.(MRK) for alleged patent infringements to prevent the U.S. drugmaker from launching a rival version of the French pharmaceutical giant's best-selling diabetes treatment Lantus.
In the filing in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, Sanofi(SNY) said on Monday it claims that Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Merck & Co.'s(MRK) international division, violated as many as 10 patents held by the French company, including ones for its insulin Lantus and its insulin delivery device soloSTAR.
The Paris-based drugs company said it started the legal proceedings against Merck after the U.S. firm's filing for new drugs applications with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
A spokeswoman for Merck said the company's product "doesn't infringe Sanofi's(SNY) patents."
Sanofi (SNY) shares were 1.3% higher at EUR69.91 in midday trading.
The French drugmaker's all-important diabetes business is under siege, as a flurry of pharmaceutical companies seek to sell knockoffs of its blockbuster insulin Lantus in the U.S. The expected launch of lower-cost copies of Lantus and growing pricing pressure on diabetes drugs in the U.S. is rapidly eroding earnings at Sanofi's(SNY) diabetes division, which accounts for about 20% of the firm's total revenue.
In the first six months of the year, diabetes revenue fell by 6% to EUR2.9 billion ($3.2 billion), hit by a 15% drop in Lantus sales to EUR2.38 billion. The company has said it expects revenue from diabetes drugs to continue to decline this as competition among insulin makers intensifies.
In January 2014, Sanofi(SNY) filed a suit against Eli Lilly & Co. to defend its patents on Lantus. It had reached a deal with the U.S. drugmaker nearly two years later, under which Lilly agreed to delay the launch of its insulin to December 2016 and pay royalties to Sanofi(SNY).
In a bid to replenish its new drugs pipeline and revive growth, Sanofi(SNY) for months had pursued U.S. biotech Medivation--a Nasdaq-listed company that focuses on hard-to-treat cancers, markets one prostate-cancer therapy, Xtandi, and has two other oncology assets in clinical development.
But U.S. pharma giant Pfizer Inc. beat out Sanofi(SNY) grabbing Medivation for $14 billion in August.
Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com and Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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