Category Archives: Legal News

Sanofi Files Suit Against Merck, Claiming Patent Infringements

French drugs firm takes legal steps to prevent the launch of rival versions of its diabetes treatment

A packet of diabetes drug Lantus SoloStar on the production line at a manufacturing site of French drugmaker Sanofi in Frankfurt, Germany. The French company has filed a lawsuit against U.S. peer Merck & Co. to prevent it from launching a rival version of its diabetes treatment. PHOTO: REUTERS

PARIS— Sanofi SA said it filed a lawsuit against Merck & Co. for alleged patent infringements to prevent the U.S. drugmaker from launching a rival version of the French pharmaceutical giant’s best-selling diabetes treatment Lantus.

In the filing in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, Sanofi said on Monday it claims that Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Merck & Co.’s international division, violated as many as 10 patents held by the French company, including ones for its insulin Lantus and its insulin delivery device soloSTAR.

The Paris-based drugs company said it started the legal proceedings against Merck after the U.S. firm’s filing for new drugs applications with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

A spokeswoman for Merck said the company’s product “doesn’t infringe Sanofi’s patents.”

Sanofi shares were 1.3% higher at €69.91 in midday trading.

The French drugmaker’s all-important diabetes business is under siege, as a flurry of pharmaceutical companies seek to sell knockoffs of its blockbuster insulin Lantus in the U.S. The expected launch of lower-cost copies of Lantus and growing pricing pressure on diabetes drugs in the U.S. is rapidly eroding earnings at Sanofi’s diabetes division, which accounts for about 20% of the firm’s total revenue.

In the first six months of the year, diabetes revenue fell by 6% to €2.9 billion ($3.2 billion), hit by a 15% drop in Lantus sales to €2.38 billion. The company has said it expects revenue from diabetes drugs to continue to decline this as competition among insulin makers intensifies.

In January 2014, Sanofi filed a suit against Eli Lilly & Co. to defend its patents on Lantus. It had reached a deal with the U.S. drugmaker nearly two years later, under which Lilly agreed to delay the launch of its insulin to December 2016 and pay royalties to Sanofi.

In a bid to replenish its new drugs pipeline and revive growth, Sanofifor months had pursued U.S. biotech Medivation—a Nasdaq-listed company that focuses on hard-to-treat cancers, markets one prostate-cancer therapy, Xtandi, and has two other oncology assets in clinical development.

But U.S. pharma giant Pfizer Inc. beat out Sanofi grabbing Medivation for $14 billion in August.

Sourced From  – http://www.wsj.com/articles/sanofi-files-suit-against-merck-on-patent-infringements-1474285467

Federal civil rights lawsuit filed in Florida inmate’s death

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the 12-year-old daughter of a Florida inmate, alleging he was gassed while in a confinement cell and that officials tried to cover up his death.

Randall Jordan-Aparo’s 2010 death at Franklin Correctional Institution was publicized amid scrutiny of the Florida Department of Corrections for suspicious deaths.

The lawsuit filed Monday in Tallahassee federal court by the mother of Jordan-Aparo’s daughter alleges corrections officers killed him and the prison’s nurses, doctors and warden conspired to cover up his death.

The 27-year-old’s death remains under investigation by state and federal law enforcement.

Spokeswomen for the Department of Corrections and the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida each declined comment to The Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/2cZ0EL8 ) on the lawsuit.

Corrections investigators also have alleged cover-ups by the corrections department in separate lawsuits over Jordan-Aparo’s death.

Italy investigates after grandson of mafia boss closed traffic and landed a helicopter in wedding day spectacle

Prosecutors in Italy are investigating how the alleged grandson of a mafia boss managed to close down traffic and land a helicopter in the crowded main square of a small Calabrian town to celebrate his wedding day.

Antonio Gallone, 31, tied the knot with his bride Aurora before celebrating with a lavish seaside spectacle complete with red carpet, Ferraris, Maseratis, and a helicopter drop-off in the main city square to a throng of cheering onlookers.

After their religious ceremony, the bride and groom took off from a nearby airfield in a Robinson 44 Ipema helicopter for an hour-long scenic flight over the Aeolian islands at sunset.

When the couple returned, their helicopter flew right over the main castle square, hovered for a moment, then touched down right in the heart of town, where traffic had been closed off for three hours.

The ancient hilltop town of Nicotera in the Calabrian province of Vibo Valentia is a known stronghold for the ‘Ndrangheta, one of the world’s richest, most powerful crime syndicates.

Nicotera’s city administration was disbanded twice in the last decade for mafia association.

Full Read – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/19/italy-investigates-after-grandson-of-mafia-boss-closed-traffic-a/

Angelina dumped Brad after private eye uncovered Marion Cotillard affair

Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pittafter learning he was cheating on her with his sexy co-star, a well-placed source told The Post on Tuesday.

“She hired a private eye because she felt that he was fooling around with her on the set, and it turns out, he was. And that was the final straw,’’ the source said.

Pitt, 52, had been rumored to have been cozying up to his “Allied’’ co-star Marion Cotillard, 40, for months during the pair’s filming of the World War II drama in London.

The PI discovered that Pitt was cheating on his wife of two years with Cotillard — while also partying like a single guy on a mission, the source said.

“The atmosphere [off-set] was full of hard drugs and Russian hookers, and Angie was told Brad got caught up in it,’’ the source said.

“He’s in the throes of some insane midlife crisis, and Angie is fed up.”

But a source close to Cotillard denied the Pitt affair rumors and insisted she is still with her long-term partner, French actor and director Guillaume Canet.

“They are still very much together. They have been a couple since 2007 and have one child but have never married,’’ the source said of Cotillard and Canet.

The source could not confirm French reports that Cotillard is pregnant with her second child with Canet.

Read Full – http://pagesix.com/2016/09/20/angelina-dumped-brad-after-private-eye-uncovered-marion-cotillard-affair/

Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Boyfriend Found ‘Legally Responsible’ for Her Death

From Marie Claire

More than a year after the untimely death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Bobby Brown and the late Whitney Houston, a judge has found her boyfriend, Nick Young, “legally responsible” for her death. WXIA-TV reports that her estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Gordon, accusing him of assault, battery, and intentionally causing her emotional harm.

Gordon failed to appear in court twice in the case, so the judge said anything the Brown estate claimed is admitted through omission. The Browns wanted $50 million in damages, but a jury will ultimately decide how much Gordon will have to pay. Gordon has not been charged with any crime.

“In court today, we finally finished a long journey for justice for Bobbi Kristina Brown,” R. David Ware, a lawyer for Brown’s conservator, told reporters. “The court agrees with us, by striking Mr. Gordon’s answer that he is legally responsible for her death. The only thing left to prove is the value of her life. We intend to do that.”

“I am pleased with the outcome of today’s court proceedings. All I ever wanted was answers relating to who and what caused my daughter’s death,” Bobby Brown said in a statement. “Today’s judgment tells me it was Nick Gordon. Now I need to process all the emotions I have and lean on God to get me and my family through this.”

Brown had been found unconscious in her bathtub in January of 2015, and was placed in a medically induced coma for months before her death. Her cause of death was revealed to be a mix of drugs, alcohol, and drowning, all of which caused the pneumonia that killed her at 22 years old.

Gordon insisted he did nothing wrong in an interview on Dr. Phil in April. He denied any claims against him in the lawsuit. “That is not true,” Gordon said. “I got so tired of that lawsuit, I just stopped paying attention to it. It’s designed to make me look bad.” He said that the two of them did drugs “socially,” but that Brown’s problem got “really bad” after her mother died. Finding her unconscious was “literally a nightmare all over again,” Gordon said. His attorneys have said in the past that he tried to save her life.