Andrew Pollack reports at the NYT that a federal judge has blocked an attempt by the drug company Actavis to halt sales of an older form of its Alzheimer’s disease drug Namenda in favor of a newer version with a longer patent life after New York’s attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing the drug company of forcing patients to switch to the newer version of the widely used medicine to hinder competition from generic manufacturers. “Today’s decision prevents Actavis from pursuing its scheme to block competition and maintain its high drug prices,” says Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. “Our lawsuit against Actavis sends a clear message: Drug companies cannot illegally prioritize profits over patients.” The case involves a practice called product hopping where brand name manufacturers (“product hoppers”) make a slight alteration to their prescription drug (PDF) and engage in marketing efforts to shift consumers from the old version to the new to insulate the drug company from generic competition for several years. For its part Actavis argued that an injunction would be “unprecedented and extraordinary” and would cause the company “great financial harm, including unnecessary manufacturing and marketing costs.” Namenda has been a big seller. In the last fiscal year, the drug generated $1.5 billion in sales. The drug costs about $300 a month.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday December 15 2014, @05:08AM
Revoking the patent wouldn't help in this case though. It appears several companies already have a plan underweigh to start selling in June. They probably can't make it happen much sooner at this point, patent or no patent.
I can understand discomfort with community service, but it is worth considering that in theory (practically never enforced), a corporate charter is supposed to be permitted only when it is in the public interest in the first place. On top of that boon, they also have made a bajillion bucks due to their patent (another boon). Surely it's not too much to ask that they at least pretend to compete fairly.