Sanofi Aventis (NYSE:SNY) yesterday filed another patent lawsuit against Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (NYSE:MRK), alleging that Merck’s product infringes upon two patents covering Sanofi’s insulin glargine product, Lantus.
In July, Merck won tentative approval for its follow-on biologic version of Sanofi’s Lantus. The agency’s final regulatory nod is contingent upon the resolution of these patent infringement suits, according to Reuters.
Sanofi said its most recent suit was triggered by a notification received by Merck in June. Merck reportedly told the company that its the application for regulatory approval included a section challenging all of the Sanofi patents listed for its Lantus and Lantus SoloStar products.
The Paris-based company filed its latest suit in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey. Late last year, Sanofi brought a lawsuit against Merck, alleging infringement of 10 patents covering its Lantus products, in the U.S. District Court of Delaware.
As of Wednesday morning, Merck has not released an official statement about the suit.
