Abstract
AFTER SEVERAL MISSTEPS, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Sanofi-Aventis have won the latest chapter in what is shaping up to be an epic legal battle over the blood thinner Plavix. A U.S. district court has granted the companies' request for a preliminary injunction ordering Canadian generic drug firm Apotex to stop selling a generic version of Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate). The presiding judge, however, stopped short of recalling product that had already been shipped to distributors and wholesalers, causing BMS to lower its earnings estimates for 2006. The ruling bars Apotex from selling clopidogrel until patent litigation among the three companies is settled. As part of the injunction, BMS and Sanofi must post a $400 million bond to ensure Apotex will be compensated should it win the patent trial, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 22,2007. BMS and Sanofi were caught off guard when Apotex launched clopidogrel on Aug. 8, ...
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