The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has upheld the patent for the API of Plavix, allowing Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis to retain exclusivity of the antiplatelet drug through November 2011. The companies were battling in court with Apotex, a generic manufacturer based in Toronto. An ill-conceived “exclusive generic” agreement between BMS and Apotex opened  a loophole that allowed Apotex to sell enormous amounts of generic Plavix to wholesalers. ...