A federal district court has ruled in favor of Viatris, the new company formed from the combination of Mylan and Upjohn, Pfizer’s off-patent branded and generic established medicines business, in litigation brought by Sanofi related to Mylan’s EpiPen Auto-Injector (epinephrine injection) products. The combination of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn business to form Viatris was completed in November (November 2020).

In the lawsuit brought by Sanofi, Sanofi claimed that Mylan had used anticompetitive practices to market EpiPen products, which are used to treat allergic emergencies (anaphylaxis). Sanofi had a competing product, Auvi-Q (epinephrine injection), for which it had formed a licensing and development agreement with Kaléo, a privately held pharmaceutical company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. In 2015, Sanofi recalled Auvi-Q from the market after the product was found to potentially have inaccurate dosage delivery, and in 2016, Sanofi decided to return the product rights to Kaléo.

Viatris reported in late December (December 2020) that the US District Court for the District of Kansas entered summary judgment in Mylan’s favor in the lawsuit brought against it by Sanofi related to Mylan’s EpiPen products.

Source: Viatris