Rubrique: Actualité
Publié le 23 janvier 2006

Globes : "Sanofi-Aventis, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, today filed suit at the Tel Aviv District Court, and petitioned for a temporary injunction against Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Sanofi-Aventis accuses Teva of infringing its patent to Allegra D, an allergy treatment, which has $2 billion in annual sales, and is one of Sanofi-Aventis’ most successful drugs.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing dispute over the distribution of generic drugs in the US, Sanofi-Aventis claims that Teva has begun manufacturing a generic version of Allegra D in Israel, and exporting it to the US, in order to take over the US market for the drug. Sanofi-Aventis alleges that Teva has violated its Israeli patent for the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Allegra D.

Sanofi-Aventis also claims that Teva’s launch of a generic version of the drug in the US, Sanofi-Aventis is liable to lose almost the entire US market for Allegra D, causing the company direct damages amounting to approximately $1 billion a year.

Sanofi-Aventis claims that Teva knowingly and deliberately took the business risk of violating Sanofi-Aventis’ patent, thereby causing the company severe harm. Sanofi-Aventis says Teva’s actions reflect wild, unfair, and brutal competition that should be cut down while still fresh."