Bayer Settles Barr-Rugby Generics Dispute

Bayer Corp, the US affiliate of the German pharmaceutical group Bayer,has settled its legal dispute with two US drugmakers over patents for the antibiotic Ciprobay (ciprofloxacin). Bayer will pay Barr Laboratories and Rugby Laboratories $24.5 million. Rugby is a generics subsidiary of Hoechst Marion Roussel, and has supported Barr financially in its legal battle since 1991. The settlement (Marketletter January 27) envisages that until the patent expires in 2003, Bayer will supply the active principle to both companies, which they can market under their own names or under both names.

Bayer's annual sales of the drug are put at $1.3 billion. US market observers have said Bayer's aim appears to be the avoidance of further costly legal processes in a period when Ciprobay is expected to generate rapid growth, as new indications for the drug are cleared.

Meantime, India's Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has cleared Bayer (India) on charges of indulging in restrictive practices, according to local reports. The MRTPC found that the offering of higher discounts in respect of two price-controlled drugs was of such a marginal degree in view of market share that it was unlikely to restrict or discourage competition in any material way.