Novo Nordisk has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against sanofi-aventis claiming that the OptiClik pen system infringes a Novo Nordisk US Patent.

The lawsuit was filed against sanofi-aventis and certain of its US, German, and Swiss affiliates on September first week in US District Court for the District of Delaware. The complaint accuses sanofi-aventis of wilful and deliberate patent infringement and seeks an injunction against the OptiClik pen system. The Novo Nordisk patent is part of a large portfolio of patents issued to Novo Nordisk covering insulins and insulin delivery products.

According to the company release, Novo Nordisk's FlexPen is the leading insulin delivery device in the US and is used with Novo Nordisk's NovoLog Mix 70/30 (70% insulin aspart protamine suspension and 30% insulin aspart injection, [rDNA origin]), NovoLog (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) and soon-to-be-launched Levemir (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection). The OptiClik pen system is sanofi-aventis's only FDA-approved insulin delivery device and is used with all its US insulin products.