Apotex Pty Limited v Sanofi (formerly Sanofi-Aventis)

Apotex Pty Limited, a pharmaceutical company, sought leave from the Federal Court to amend its points of defence against Sanofi, another pharmaceutical entity. The dispute pertained to the validity of patents held by Apotex, which Sanofi alleged were infringed by certain of its products. The court was tasked with determining whether Sanofi should be permitted to file amended points of defence and whether these amendments should be refused due to an apparent contradiction in their stance.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the respondents should be granted leave to file amended points of defence and if the proposed amendments were adequate. A further consideration was whether the respondents were attempting to approbate and reprobate by seeking to amend their defence. The court also needed to decide if the proposed amendments adequately pleaded and particularised the defences.

The court concluded that the respondents should be given leave to file amended points of defence but required that these be served by a specified date. The court emphasised that the proposed amendments must be adequately pleaded and particularised, with particular attention to certain elements referenced in the defence. The court also noted that the date for another procedural step in the case should be adjusted. The matter was to be listed for further directions, and costs were reserved for later determination.

The court's orders mandated that the respondents submit revised proposed amended points of defence by a certain date and provide full particulars of specified matters. The date for a subsequent procedural step in the case was to be varied, and the matter was scheduled for a directions hearing. Costs were reserved pending further developments in the case.