Sanofi (NYSE:SNY) filed a patent infringement suit against Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) yesterday in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, alleging that the EpiPen-maker infringed upon 18 patents covering Sanofi’s Lantus insulin glargine injection and SoloStar pen.
The suit was triggered by a notice from Mylan in mid-September, Sanofi said. Mylan told the insulin-maker that it had filed an NDA for an insulin glargine pre-filled pen, which challenged all of the patents listed for Sanofi’s Lantus products.
Mylan is not the only company that Sanofi is tangling with in court over the Lantus patents.
In August, the company filed another patent lawsuit against Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (NYSE:MRK), alleging that Merck’s product infringes upon two patents covering 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.
