Thursday, May 8, 2008

Breaking news: Lawyers to benefit from other people's depression, nightmares


Told you it was going to be a busy summer. From Shannon Duffy:
Antitrust Class Action Certified Against GlaxoSmithKline

"A federal judge has certified a class action antitrust suit that accuses GlaxoSmithKline of using monopolistic tactics to boost its profits from Wellbutrin, a popular antidepressant, by delaying a generic version of the drug from coming to market.

The suit was brought by direct purchasers who claim that GSK concocted a plan to keep Wellbutrin prices high by making fraudulent assertions to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and by engaging in "sham" patent litigation against generic drug manufacturers.
According to the suit, the plan worked because the patent litigation delayed the market entry of generic versions of Wellbutrin, and the direct purchasers were forced to pay unnecessarily high prices for the drug, because no generic versions of bupropion were available for nearly two years after GSK's patent monopoly would have expired."
Hat tip to Steve Geisler for bring this to my attention.

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