UPC Court of Appeal hears Sanofi’s challenge over cabazitaxel patent revocation

In one of the most prominent pharma cases at the UPC, oral proceedings in Sanofi’s appeal against the first-instance decision of the UPC’s Munich local division started today and are scheduled to continue tomorrow. At the centre of the dispute is EP 2 493 466, a second medical use patent protecting the use of cabazitaxel in combination with prednisone or prednisolone for the treatment of hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer in patients previously treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy. The combination forms the basis of Sanofi’s chemotherapy drug Jevtana.

Second medical use patents are rarely filed by originators in Europe due to the difficulties associated with their enforcement. Nevertheless, Sanofi has fought to defend EP 466 before national courts, the EPO, and most recently the UPC.

In December 2025, the Munich local division under presiding judge Matthias Zigann revoked the patent for Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The court dismissed Sanofi’s infringement claims against Zentiva, Stada, and Dr Reddy’s. The judges followed the reasoning of the Paris Judicial Court rather than that of the EPO. Shortly before the Munich hearing, Sanofi and Accord had reached a confidential settlement and withdrew their respective claims.

Sanofi filed an appeal on 12 February in Luxemburg against Zentiva (case IDs: UPC-CoA-0000027/2026 and UPC-COA-0000024/2026), betapharm (case ID: UPC-COA-0000026/2026), Stada (case IDs: UPC-COA-0000025/2026 and UPC-COA-0000022/2026) and Dr. Reddy and betapharm (case ID: UPC-COA-0000023/2026). These will be heard today and tomorrow.

A patchwork of decisions

The outcome of the UPC first-instance proceedings aligned with earlier decisions in favour of generics manufacturers. In September 2024, the Paris Judicial Court revoked the French part of the patent on the grounds of obviousness in a dispute brought by Accord, referring in particular to prior Phase I and II clinical data on cabazitaxel and an ongoing Phase III trial on the claimed indication. The French part of EP 466 was later reinstated following an agreement between the parties in appeal proceedings (case ID: 24/17193).

At the EPO, twelve opponents challenged the patent immediately after it was granted in February 2021, among them Glenmark, Teva, Accord Healthcare, and Ever Pharma. The Opposition Division rejected the oppositions in early 2024, a decision the Boards of Appeal upheld in June 2025 (case ID: T 0136/24).

Several generics manufacturers are already marketing their own versions of cabazitaxel in various European countries. Accord has been selling its competing product in France since 2021.

Advisors on appeal

After a French team from McDermott Will & Emery represented Sanofi in the first instance on appeal, Hoyng ROKH Monegier has now taken over the case. Düsseldorf-based partner Christine Kanz is  leading the proceedings for the pharma innovator. Her team includes counsel Valentin Wagner. They work closely together with a team of Carpmaels & Ransford including Agathe Michel-de Cazotte, Isobel Barry, Hannah Gardiner and patent attorneys Amanda Simmons and Ravi Srinivasanof JA Kemp

Stada is again relying on Bonabry together with patent attorneys from Hamm & Wittkopp, with partners Daniel Hoppe and Konstantin Schallmoser leading, and patent attorney Alexander Wittkopp advising on technical matters. The litigation boutique and the patent attorney firm recently announced that they will merge at the beginning of 2027.

Dr Reddy’s and betapharm have retained a mixed team from Maiwald led by litigation partner Christian Meyer, with counsel Tobias Matschke and patent attorneys Andreas Ledl and Sandra Unterseer.

Zentiva continues to work with Anja Lunze of Pentarc, the boutique that split off from Taylor Wessing’s Munich office in October 2025. Aurel-Damian Roscher supports, with df-mp patent attorneys Elisabeth Greiner and Simon Geiger handling the technical side.

In the French proceedings as well as at the UPC, a team from Taylor Wessing around Jules Fabre and Marina Jonon, who joined the firm from Pinsent Masons in 2025, represented Accord.