Momenta, Sandoz and Amphastar are putting their Lovenox litigation in the rear-view mirror with a new settlement. (Pixabay)
Sanofi’s big-selling blood thinner Lovenox has long faced generic competition in the U.S., but now rival generics makers are squashing long-running lawsuits over their own versions of the drug.
Partners Momenta and Sandoz have agreed to pay $59.9 million to Amphastar” to resolve yearslong antitrust and patent disputes. Momenta and Sandoz previously sued Amphastar on patent infringement claims, but Amphastar hit back with an antitrust suit against the partners, according to SEC filings. Now, Momenta and Sandoz see it in their best interest to pay their rival and walk away from the litigation.
“The settlement will resolve two ongoing complex litigations pending before this Court and the Federal Circuit, which will lead to substantial savings of judicial resources,” lawyers for all three drugmakers wrote in a recent court filing. “The settlement also promotes the interests of all parties by saving legal costs and eliminating any legal risks surrounding the pending litigations.”
Momenta and Sandoz reached the market first with a Lovenox generic, but amid a legal battle, Amphastar won the right to launch its own copy. Sanofi’s Lovenox generated €3 billion at peak before its generic slide; last year, the drug pulled in €1.47 billion.
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Last year, a court ruled that Amphastar infringed a Momenta patent, but that the patent was invalid, Momenta said in a filing. The drugmaker has agreed to pay Amphastar $21 million by July 2.As part of the new settlement, the District Court in Massachusetts vacated that prior patent ruling.
