Preliminary injunction against Apotex over generic Plavix

There is another installment in the
Plavix/BMS/Apotex saga: a preliminary injunction against Apotex barring future sales of generic Plavix (S-clopidogrel). [IPBiz Aug 13]
BMS has to post a bond, to pay off Apotex if Apotex wins the patent litigation. Given the generous terms BMS gave to Apotex in the deal that was later nullified by the FTC, one might have a reasonable guess as to the outcome of the patent litigation.

In the old days, this set-up would mean that the consumer would have to pay elevated prices for Plavix prior to the conclusion of the patent litigation, at which point Apotex might get a split if the patent were invalid. Now, we are in different days.

from pharma business review online:

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted a preliminary injunction ordering Apotex to halt its sales of a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' Plavix.

The order was entered in connection with the patent infringement lawsuit pending among the parties relating to the validity of a composition of matter patent for the generic drug. On August 8, 2006, Apotex announced that it had launched a generic version of Plavix.

The court has ordered the companies to post a bond in the amount of $400 million to provide security to Apotex should the court conclude at the end of the patent litigation that the injunction was wrongly imposed. The injunction will remain in effect until the pending patent infringement lawsuit is resolved.