On Aug. 8, 2006, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its ratings on New York, N.Y.-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., including the 'A+' long-term corporate credit and 'A-1' short-term rating, on CreditWatch with negative implications. The action followed the company's announcement that it expects Canadian generic drug maker Apotex Inc. to soon launch, at risk, a generic version of its best-selling drug, Plavix. Meanwhile, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings and outlook on Sanofi-Aventis S.A. (AA-/Stable-A-1+). Both Bristol-Myers and partner, Sanofi-Aventis believe Plavix still has patent protection in the U.S. until 2011 and had been negotiating a patent settlement with Apotex. Plavix generated $4.1 billion in sales on a 12-month rolling basis ended June 30, 2006, and accounts for
