Aventis, Andrx charged with conspiracy

14 May 2001

The Attorneys General of Washington and 15 other US states have filedsuit claiming that Aventis illegally paid $89 million to generics maker Andrx to keep Cartia TX, a generic version of Aventis' hypertension and angina drug Cardizem CD (diltiazem), off the market for 11 months from July 1998.

The suit was filed in the US District Court in Detroit, Michigan, by the AGs of New York, Arizona, California, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Washington State and West Virginia. It seeks $100 million in restitution in addition to civil damages and penalties on behalf of the states' consumers.

Michigan AG Jennifer Granholm said Aventis had made the offer to Andrx after suing it for patent and trademark infringements. The deal was halted after lawsuits were filed against it and the Federal Trade Commission began a probe, but it probably cost an average consumer an extra $400 a year, she said. Given that firms might regard such deals as a cost of doing business, the suit had been brought to ensure the profit is not worth it and make other firms think twice before engaging in such arrangements, she added, while Washington AG Christine Gregoire commented that drugmakers "cannot agree to keep a cheaper, generic version of a drug off the market simply to shore up their profit margins."

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Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK



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