[Ip-health] Reuters: Abbott AIDS drug price hike hit by suit, protest

[Kate Krauss]

Abbott AIDS drug price hike hit by suit, protest
Mon Apr 19, 2004 04:05 PM ET

CHICAGO, April 19 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. (ABT.N: Quote,
Profile, Research) was hit with a federal antitrust lawsuit on Monday by
patients charging the company with illegally jacking up the price of a
popular AIDS drug by 400 percent.

The pharmaceutical company made a decision last December to raise the price
of Norvir, a key component of many AIDS-fighting cocktails. Since then,
doctors have urged a boycott and the nation's largest AIDS organization sued
the company in protest. In the latest wrinkle, two patients filed a
complaint in the U.S. District Court for Northern California, seeking
damages and an injunction to halt the higher prices.

Abbott spokeswoman Jennifer Smoter said the company has not violated any
laws, but couldn't comment on the suit, having not seen it yet.

The company previously said the price hike was long overdue, and even with
it the medication still would be the cheapest in its class.

A court must certify that the plaintiffs are similar enough to represent a
class.

The complaint could be the first targeting Norvir to seek class-action
status, according to the lawyer representing the patients, Joseph Tabacco.

Norvir, generically called ritonavir, helps subdue the HIV virus that causes
AIDS. It is unique in that it can boost effectiveness of other AIDS drugs.

A group of protesters organized by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and
others, on Monday morning launched a 34-hour vigil in front of an Abbott
Labs location in South Pasadena, California. Demonstrators at the Southern
California vigil carried signs that read "Abbott Labs: 'Getting fat on
AIDS'"