Bayer paid $200M to keep generic Cipro off market, says lawsuit

A consortium of US consumer groups headed by the Prescription AccessLitigation project has filed a lawsuit against Bayer in order to try to dissolve an agreement between the company and three generic firms that it claims is "blocking access to adequate supplies and cheaper generic versions of Cipro" (ciprofloxacin).

The suit also alleges that Bayer has paid the generics firms, including Barr Laboratories, $200 million not to produce the antibiotic and abandon their argument that Bayer's patents on the drug were invalid. Cipro has emerged as a drug of choice for treating anthrax, and the suit maintains that broadening US production of the drug is "critical to public health in this country."

Bayer said it stands by the validity of its US patents on Cipro, which give it protection until 2003, while Barr pointed out that the agreement provides for generic competition in July of that year, even though the patent extends through to December.