A federal judge’s decision yesterday to uphold the patent onblood thinner Plavix has revived speculation that the drug’s co-marketers couldjoin forces. Analysts, however, cast doubt on the idea that Bristol-MyersSquibb would merge with its larger partner Sanofi-Aventis.
US District Judge Sidney Stein said that BMS and Sanofi are entitledto a permanent injunction barring generic drug firm Apotex, which had broughtthe challenge, from infringing on its patent. Apotex faces no significantdamages for its at-risk launch, since ex-Bristol CEO Peter Dolan negotiatedaway those rights in a settlement which was designed to keep generic Plavix offthe market but fell apart. Thanks to the ruling, though, and the recent sunsetof a two-year federal probation period that had weighed on BMS, rumors are onceagain flying of a takeover.
Meanwhile, a recent setback for Sanofi could push the Francopowerhouse to acquire new products via buyout: last week’s rejection by an FDA advisorypanel of its experimental obesity drug Zimulti, once deemed a possible $3billion-a-year blockbuster.
New CEO James Cornelius may be more comfortable going italone. Why? He just signed drug-development deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca. “Thefact that some of Bristol’sinteresting products had already been licensed out undercut its value as apipeline-booster for Sanofi,” said an analyst with Aurel Leven who was quotedby Reuters.
Bristolmanagement also may feel less pressure to sell out given the success of newerdrugs like Abilify for schizophrenia, Orencia for rheumatoid arthritis andSprycel for cancer, Reuters pointed out. Sanofi management, on the other hand, aren’tin agreement that a deal makes sense. “Chief Executive Gerard Le Fur is said tobe cool to the idea.”
Besides, wrote Forbes, a sale by Bristol “would run the risk of derailing thecompany’s pipeline.” The firm recently launched medicines for rheumatoidarthritis and leukemia, and yesterday it received FDA six-month review status fora new chemotherapy for breast cancer (ixabepilone). Diabetes and breast cancer compounds arein development. Moreover, with its legal woes in the rearview mirror, “Bristolcould look attractive to other pharmaceutical companies, like AstraZeneca,GlaxoSmithKline or Pfizer, leading to a bidding war.”
Prevailing wisdom prior to the Plavix ruling held that BMSand Sanofi had a strong case in the patent trial. And there is a “slight chance”Apotex could win on appeal. The good news, however, “strengthens theopportunity for management at Bristolto reassess an independent future,” said a Mehta Partners analyst quoted byReuters.
Patent protection on Plavix runs until November 2011. The drug had annual USsales of nearly $4 billion before the Apotex generic was launched and globalsales of $6 billion.
