NEW YORK (AP) -- Hospira Inc. stopped selling a generic chemotherapy drug just days after it got regulatory approval after the branded drug's maker, Sanofi-Aventis, went to court to block shipments.
Hospira said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday it has stopped shipping oxaliplatin injection, which is the generic version of Eloxatin. It won FDA approval just three days earlier.
Lake Forest, Ill.-based Hospira and France-based Sanofi-Aventis are in court over the patents supporting the drug, which had U.S. sales of $1.4 billion last year. In June, a U.S. District Court in New Jersey said Hospira's injectable version did not infringe on the patent held by Sanofi-Aventis. Sanofi-Aventis said it would appeal the decision.
Hospira said it is temporarily suspending shipments of oxaliplatin until the court considers arguments in the case to be filed by Tuesday.
The suspension of shipments is not related to the drugs's safety or efficacy, Hospira added.
In afternoon trading, Hospira shares fell 90 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $39.19.
