Boehringer sues Mylan over aspirin product

German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has sued generic drug maker Mylan for infringing a patent covering its Aggrenox drug.

Aggrenox, which combines dipyridamole with acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), is prescribed to reduce the risk of stroke in people who have experienced a mini-stroke or stroke due to a blood clot.

Boehringer has asserted its US patent 6,015,577, which covers pharmaceutical compositions containing dipridamole or mopidamol and acetylsalicylic acid, processes for preparing them and their use in treating blood clot formation.

In the complaint, filed on July 30 at the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, Boehringer said Mylan has sought approval to make a generic version of Aggrenox before the ‘577 patent expires.

Boehringer argued that Mylan did not deny infringement of the patent in its notice letter to the German company, and that the only defences of patent invalidity it asserted were of obviousness and anticipation.

The pharmaceutical company has asked for a declaration that Mylan has infringed the ‘577 patent and a permanent injunction stopping Mylan from making the product.