[Pharm-policy] Lawsuit over Schering conspiracy to block generic K-Dur20

[love@cptech.org]

 Thursday June 7, 4:30 pm Eastern Time
Consumer group sues on generic drug deals
NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - A coalition of consumer groups said on
Thursday it has filed six lawsuits against Schering-Plough Corp.
(NYSE:SGP - news) and two other drug makers, alleging that they
conspired to block the launch of cheaper, generic versions of
Schering-Plough's potassium supplement K-Dur20.

The class-action lawsuits, filed in state and federal courts by the
Prescription Access Litigation project, allege that consumers have been
paying ``artificially inflated prices'' for K-Dur20 for more than three
years.

The group said in a statement that Schering-Plough paid privately held
Upsher-Smith and ESI Lederle, a unit of American Home Products Corp.
(NYSE:AHP - news), more than $80 million to delay their generic forms of
K-Dur20.

   [SNIP]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has already filed a complaint about
the K-Dur20 delay. The FTC seeks to preclude any deals between the firms
that would hold up the sale of generics and wants Schering-Plough to
immediately license its K-Dur20 patent to Upsher-Smith and Lederle.

The FTC also seeks to remove from Upsher-Smith a six-month generic
exclusivity period that would prevent other generic companies from
selling their versions of the drug.

The Prescription Access Litigation project, formed in January by
health-care consumer groups, said it filed suit in U.S. district courts
in New Jersey and Minnesota and in state courts in New York, Louisiana,
Massachusetts and Maine.

   [SNIP]

Schering-Plough and Upsher-Smith said they would fight the FTC charges
and class-action lawsuits.

``We believe that we have not violated the antitrust laws and we intend
to defend ourselves vigorously,'' said AHP spokesman Lowell Weiner.

Schering-Plough spokesman William O'Donnell said the pacts were legal
and actually facilitated the launch of generic versions of K-Dur20
before Schering-Plough's patent expires in 2006.

   [SNIP]