Friday, September 21, 2007

Sanofi Defending Patent Rights in China

Sanofi-Aventis, world’s third largest pharmaceutical company has cleared its intention to defend its patent rights in China by filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Beijing High Court against Chinese anti-tumor drug manufacturer Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co Ltd. In its complaint, Sanofi has alleged that Jiangsu has infringed upon a patent for docetaxel, a cytotoxic injectable issued by the China’s State Intellectual Property Office on December 27, 2006 and is seeking RMB 45 million ($ 5.98 million) in patent fees, RMB 55 million ($ 7.31 million) in compensation for economic loss, and RMB 200,000 ($ 26,595) in sampling and notarization fees. Earlier in 2003, Aventis filed a lawsuit against Jiangsu for infringing a process patent for manufacturing of docetaxel, which Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court later in September 2006 ruled in favor of Sanofi-Aventis, and ordered Jiangsu to pay a total of RMB 230,000 ($30,616) in compensation and legal cots. Jiangsu appealed to the Shanghai Higher People’s Court, which withdrew the previous judgment.

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