Amgen wins rival sales injunction in Germany

The Dusseldorf Regional Court has found that Sanofi and Regeneron’s Praluent (alirocumab) infringed a European patent (No. 2,215,124) that covers Amgen’s rival drug Repatha (evolocumab), and has agreed to a block on the manufacture, sale and marketing of Praluent in Germany. Both antibody drugs are designed to be used in patients who struggle to control their cholesterol levels using statin drugs, or who have inherited disorders that cause elevated cholesterol.
Sanofi said the judgment doesn’t affect any other European markets and whilst disappointed by the decision, the company “continues to believe that patients and physicians should have a choice of cholesterol-lowering therapies in order to achieve optimal lipid-lowering for patients.” Amgen must now enforce the injunction by posting a bond.