Sanofi loses Lantus patent claims against Mylan

(Reuters) - U.S. generics drugmaker Mylan N.V. said on Thursday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected French pharma company Sanofi's patent infringement claims related to two formulations of its blockbuster insulin drug Lantus.

Sanofi has previously filed patent infringement suits against other rivals, including Merck and Co and Eli Lilly & Co, to block cheaper versions of the diabetes drug from coming to the market.

The company is heavily reliant on Lantus, its leading product with sales of 4.62 billion euros ($5.26 billion) in 2017.

Sanofi's Paris-listed shares fell 1 percent. The company declined to comment.

Lantus is a long-acting insulin used to treat adults with type 2 diabetes and adults and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes to control high blood sugar.

Sanofi, which settled with Lilly allowing it to launch Basaglar, an insulin similar to Lantus in 2016, sued Mylan in October 2017.

The case includes some patents covering a disposable injection pen version, Lantus SoloSTAR. That litigation is pending and no trial date has been set, Mylan said.

Mylan's generic versions of Lantus and Lantus SoloSTAR, developed with India's Biocon, are being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

($1 = 0.8786 euros)

(Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Sriraj Kalluvila)