Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt, MD, shared his initial thoughts on the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to accelerate the launch of new biosimilars during the Viva Technology forum June 15-17 in Paris, reports Reuters.
Here are three things to know about the ruling, as well as Dr. Brandicourt's response.
1. Under the ruling, drugmakers will no longer have to wait six months after regulatory approval to launch their copycat version of biologic drugs.
2. The decision represents a major blow to brand name drugmakers, as an extra six-month exclusivity period can translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in sales, according to the report.
"It is something we had to be ready for ... it is part of the business model," Dr. Brandicourt told Reuters, saying the decision will have an "immediate impact" on the drug industry.
3. Dr. Brandicourt said Sanofi has not yet evaluated the potential financial consequences of the ruling.
"As far as we are concerned, we have not yet had sufficient time to evaluate, in the frame of our strategic plan, the possible financial consequences, if they were to be any," he told Reuters.