PLAVIX payoff

PLAVIX payoffIt hasn't been a great few days for BMS and PLAVIX. First the company announces results of a study that made PLAVIX look bad compared with aspirin. And now BMS and sanofi-aventis seem to be paying Canadian drug maker APOTEX to keep generic PLAVIX off the market a while longer. BMS contends that its patent on PLAVIX is good until 2011, but APOTEX and Dr. Reddy's have both challenged the patent.It seems like BMS thinks the generic players have a strong case and are getting a bit nervous. As they say in their press release:

[L]oss of market exclusivity of PLAVIX® and the subsequent development of generic competition would be material to sanofi-aventis' and Bristol-Myers Squibb's sales of PLAVIX® and results of operations and cash flows, and could be material to sanofi-aventis' and Bristol-Myers Squibb's financial condition and liquidity.