and its U.S. partner Bristol-Myers Squibb Co suffered a setback on Tuesday when a German court backed immediate marketing approval for generic versions of their blockbuster blood-thinning drug Plavix.

Sanofi said it and Bristol-Myers would appeal against the two decisions.

The German administrative court in Cologne ordered immediate enforcement of marketing authorisations held by generic drug companies Yes and by a subsidiary of Ratiopharm for their clopidogrel besylate products.

Another similar case remains pending before the same court.

Clopidogrel besylate is a generic formulation of Plavix, which also goes under the brand name Iscover.

Sanofi said in a statement it believed that approvals for these cheaper generic forms of its medicine should never have been accepted for review, since the applications relied on its proprietary data.

“Sanofi-Aventis will continue to pursue all available administrative and legal procedures in order to ensure the proper protection of its rights in this matter,” the group said.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Paul Bolding)