Servier Canada announced today that on July 2nd the Federal Court of Canada rendered judgment that Servier Canada’s patent for perindopril is valid and has been infringed by the generic perindopril 8 mg product sold in Canada by Apotex Inc.

In early 2007, Apotex Inc. launched a generic copy of the 8mg dose of Coversyl® on the Canadian market. Servier Canada filed a patent infringement action against Apotex Inc. in the Federal Court of Canada through its attorneys Ogilvy Renault. After a lengthy trial which took place early this year, Justice Judith Snider of the Court issued her Judgment on July 2, 2008.

Apotex Inc. has been ordered to stop distributing and selling its infringing product by August 2nd, 2008. Servier's patent expires in March 2018.

“While we were always confident in the strength and validity of our patent, we are very pleased that the Federal Court and Justice Snider issued a favourable ruling to protect Servier Canada’s intellectual property rights”, says Mike Sumpter, CEO of Servier Canada, “This is not only a victory for Servier Canada, but also for all research pharmaceutical companies throughout Canada whose intellectual property should be respected. This will allow us to continue our clinical research activities in Canada for Coversyl® and other innovative medicines for the benefit of Canadian patients with chronic diseases. “

About Servier Canada Inc.

Servier Canada Inc. is a pharmaceutical company, based in Laval (Quebec) that focuses on the development of therapies to treat cardiovascular, metabolic and central nervous system diseases. It is the Canadian subsidiary of the Servier Research Group, the leading French-based independent (private) pharmaceutical company, which is present in 140 countries around the world.

The Servier Research Group distinguishes itself by investing 25 per cent of its income in research and development which is approximately double the industry average. This enables the advancement of scientific knowledge and the discovery of therapeutic innovations leading to improved patient care and treatment outcomes.

About Coversyl

Coversyl® is an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension, congestive heart failure and the reduction of cardiovascular risk in patients with hypertension or post-myocardial infarction and stable coronary artery disease. As part of Servier’s ongoing commitment to research and advancing patient care Coversyl® has been used in many major clinical trials throughout the world including the ‘European trial on reduction of cardiac events with perindopril in stable coronary artery disease’ (the EUROPA study). For additional information, please refer to the product monograph.

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For further information, please contact:
Sophie Merven
HKDP Communications and Public Affairs
(514) 395-0375 X 239
smerven@hkdp.qc.ca