Sanofi US today announced that the U. S. District Court in Massachusetts granted the company a preliminary injunction against a Synvisc-One
® (hylan G-F 20) competitor product developed by Seikagaku Corporation. The ruling allows for a restricted launch of Seikagaku's product prior to a scheduled trial date in April, and prohibits Seikagaku from selling their product below the current average sales price for Synvisc-One.
In its recent ruling, the Court found that Seikagaku was not likely to prevail at trial, which will focus on U.S. Patent 7,931,030.
"We are pleased that the Court recognized the strength of our '030 patent, which protects Genzyme's Synvisc-One® franchise," said Alison Lawton, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Sanofi's Biosurgery business. "We are also pleased that the Court took decisive steps to protect the market position that Genzyme earned through its research and development and product innovation."
Synvisc-One® has been the only single-injection viscosupplement for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) knee pain on the U.S. market since it was launched in the first quarter of 2009. The market for such treatments is large, growing and underpenetrated; of the estimated 9 million eligible OA patients in the United States, only about 14 percent are currently treated with viscosupplements.