Upjohn "Violated State Business Practice Laws"

New York State Attorney General G Oliver Koppell has accused Upjohn of violating state laws against deceptive and misleading business practices over allegations that the company has been paying pharmacists to induce patients to switch from Micronase (glibenclamide/glyburide), which has lost its patent protection and is therefore liable to generic competition, to a new formulation called Glynase Prestab. The investigation into the matter began in 1992 and Upjohn stopped reimbursement in March 1993.

As part of the program, Upjohn paid pharmacists $8 every time a patient switched products and also paid them for calling doctors and patients and suggesting the decision to both parties. A company spokesman said that the firm disagreed with the eight states which have accused it of business practice violations, saying that it did not do anything wrong. He stated that the firm was primarily paying pharmacists for counselling and educating patients. He added that the two drugs cost about the same in 1992 and that Glynase was now slightly less expensive than Micronase, costing $41.86 for 100 pills compared to $44.73 for 100 Micronase pills. However, generic versions of Micronase cost as little as $30 for 100 pills.

The company has agreed to tell consumers that there could be medical risks in switching from one product to another, and that diabetics who change their drugs must have their blood sugar monitored. Mr Koppell said that the practice was misleading in that the two drugs were not equivalent.