US seniors sue B-MS over generic BuSpar

The Stop Patient Abuse Now (SPAN) Coalition has announced that theseniors' activist association, the Gray Panthers, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Bristol-Myers Squibb for the damages which it claims the company has caused by delaying competition to its anti-anxiety drug BuSpar (buspirone: Marketletter April 16).

Lawsuits have also been filed against the company on behalf of the HIP Health Plan of Florida and Richard Levine, a buspirone user in Florida.

According to SPAN, the lawsuit is part of the coalition's new strategy to stop what it describes as abusive practices by drug companies that prevent competition. "Consumers are tired of waiting for Congress," stated Tim Fuller, who is SPAN's founder and executive director of the Gray Panthers. "We're taking matters into our own hands now, and we're not stopping until we get reform."