Judge rules in favor of Abbott over Watson in Synthroid case

A federal judge in the USA has found in favor of Abbott Laboratories inits lawsuit against Watson Pharmaceuticals to stop the latter's "false advertising and deceptive trade practices" regarding Abbott's prescription thyroid drug Synthroid (levothyroxine sodium; Marketletter June 25). Specifically, the judge said Watson cannot claim that Abbott has violated the US Food and Drug Administration's August 1997 decision, which requires every manufacturer of levothyroxine drugs to file either a New Drug Application or a citizen petition showing that their products are not new drugs.

The judge also ordered Watson to stop claiming that Synthroid is not safe and effective, and furthermore noted that the FDA's approval of the firm's own levothyroxine drug, Unithroid, does not mean that it is a superior product to Synthroid and other levothyroxine products that have not yet received approval. However, the judge rejected Abbott's demand that Watson should engage in corrective advertising.