Federal appeals court decision will keep Regeneron/Sanofi drug at center of patent dispute on market, for now

A federal appeals court temporarily stopped another judge's decision that would have forced Regeneron and Sanofi to stop selling cholesterol drug Praluent. The Tuesday decision, though expected, "means that Praluent will not come off the market by Feb. 21," and could even stay on the market through the rest of the year, said Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum. The previous judge's decision in favor of Amgen Inc. was a key victory for Amgen, and sent its shares up on Jan. 7, the day the decision emerged. Praluent and Amgen's drug Repatha are part of an expensive class of drugs that cost upward of $14,000 a year. Regeneron shares, which were halted on the news, have slumped 4.0% over the last three months, compared with a 7.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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