U.S. judge issues permanent block on Apotex's generic Plavix

A U.S. judge has upheld the patent on the popular blood thinner Plavix and permanently blocked Toronto-based Apotex Inc. from selling its generic version of the drug in the United States.

In a New York court on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein issued the ban on Apotex selling the drug as he ruled that the privately held Canadian company had failed to prove during a trial held in January and February that the patent held by Sanofi-Aventis on the drug was invalid.

The judge will set damages in future proceedings.

Apotex said it will appeal the ruling.

Apotex quickly started selling its version of the blood thinner in August 2006 after settlement talks between Apotex, Sanofi and its U.S. distributor, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., fell apart.

On Aug. 31, Stein ruled that Apotex could continue selling fromthe six-month supply of its generic version it had shipped to U.S. distributors but blocked future sales.

Plavix is one of the world's top-selling drugs, with world-wide sales of $938 million US last year, according to Bloomberg.