Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Friday, February 10, 2012 0:20 am TWN, AP

Sponsors
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 75% for all hotels in Shanghai, Beijing and whole China. Lowest rates for Flights in China.
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.

Apotex pays Bristol, Sanofi damages in Plavix patent infringement battle

TRENTON, New Jersey -- Just three months before the world's second-best-selling drug gets U.S. generic competition, a generic company has paid nearly US$445 million to finally end a decadelong, twist-filled patent infringement battle with two heavyweight drugmakers over blood thinner Plavix.

Apotex Corp., Canada's biggest drugmaker, has paid Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi SA, the two brand-name drugmakers that jointly sell Plavix, US$442.2 million in damages ordered over its improper sales of a generic version of Plavix in 2006. Apotex also paid US$1.26 million in interest on that judgment and another US$900,000 in legal costs.

The Plavix patent saga began with patent-challenging litigation in March 2002. It includes an illegal deal to delay sales of generic Plavix, a criminal antitrust investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, the ouster of a former Bristol CEO and an earlier probe over alleged inflation of sales figures.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here