Sanofi files new lawsuit to defend Lantus patent rights

9 August 2017

French drugmaker Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) has announced that it has launched a new patent infringement suit against US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) in the USA.

The suit alleges infringement of two patents relating to Lantus (insulin glargine), Sanofi’s flagship diabetes drug. Its sales slid 19% to 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in the latest quarter compared to a year ago amid competition from biosimilars and other biologics, but it was still the company’s biggest-selling product.

Sanofi’s filing of the suit was triggered by a notification received in late June this year, in which Merck stated that it had filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration for an insulin glargine vial drug product.

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