Sanofi-Aventis says that a US district court has approved an extension for the submission of the “pre-trial” order in a patent infringement lawsuit for its top-selling super-aspirin, Plavix (clopidogrel), effectively delaying the trial by a month.
Back in January, Sanofi-Aventis said that a US judge had chosen March 4 as the date for the submission of the pre-trial order [[07/01/05c]]. The date has now been extended to April 8.
Apotex and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories have been challenging the Plavix patent since 2002 [[04/04/02b]]. Although Dr Reddy’s claims that three patents covering Plavix in the USA are invalid, and has filed for approval of its generic formulation, Sanofi-Aventis asserts that the central patent covering the compound in this market does not expire until 2011.
