Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the US District court for the southern district of New York has upheld the validity and enforceability of US patent 4,847,265 covering clopidogrel bisulfate, the active ingredient in Plavix, maintaining the main patent protection for this product in the United States until November 2011.

The court also ruled that Apotex's generic clopidogrel bisulfate infringes sanofi-aventis' patent, and has enjoined Apotex from marketing this product in the United States until the patent expires.

Sanofi-aventis is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, ranking number one in Europe. Backed by a world-class R&D organisation, sanofi-aventis is developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, thrombosis, oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous system, internal medicine and vaccines.