AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca asks judge to nullify $215M drug-price lawsuit

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Drugmaker AstraZeneca has asked an Alabama judge to nullify a jury verdict that ordered it to pay the state $215 million in damages in a Medicaid drug-price fraud suit. The state's 2005 suit accused the pharma with overcharging Medicaid by inflating drug prices. The jury awarded the judgment in February, but AstraZeneca appealed, saying that the state's attorneys hadn't proved their case, and had also violated a state law capping punitive damages. If the current judge doesn't throw out the verdict, the firm will appeal the judgment to the state's Supreme Court.

To learn more about the case:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

Related Article:
Drugmakers cut deals in price-inflation lawsuit

FTC: Pharmas cut 14 deals to delay generic sales in '07

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Makers of brand-name prescription drugs reached 14 agreements with makers of generic drugs to delay the generic drug makers entry into the market, according to a new report released by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC says these deals, which it has dubbed 'pay-for-delay,' are harmful to consumers, but it hasn't been very successful in blocking them to date. The agency is on record as supporting legislation that would ban such deals, but such measures haven't made much progress on the Hill due to opposition from both brand-name and generic drug makers.

The 14 deals discussed were part of a total of 33 deals between brand-name and generic drug makers for FY 2007 reported to the agency (as required by 2003 Medicare legislation). In each of the 14 deals, the generic maker got some kind of compensation to delay the market entry of their generic product, and in 11 of the agreements, the brand-name drug maker agreed not to sell its own generic when its patents expired.

To learn more from the report, and get more context:
- read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report item

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Drug companies plan to disclose grant funding

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Hoping to stave off outside regulation by Congress, a group of the nation's largest drug and device manufacturers have put forth plans to publicly disclose the grants they make to outside organizations. In a recent letter to 15 such companies, Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) noted that Eli Lilly already discloses the grants it makes for continuing medical education programs, and asked them to explain why they weren't making similar efforts.

In response to Grassley's letter, virtually all of the companies outlined disclosure plans, though the plans differ in the details. For example, Medtronic said it will post payments for professional meetings and patient groups on its site beginning May 1, and AstraZeneca will follow its lead starting Aug. 1. Boston Scientific, for its part, said it would soon disclose certain payments to physicians, a particularly newsworthy concession. The only holdout was Schering-Plough, which told Grassley that it didn't have plans to publish its charitable contributions anytime soon.

Sen. Grassley, along with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) already have introduced legislation that would require drug and device makers to disclose anything of value given to doctors, including not only payments, but also gifts and travel. However, they're really hoping to see these industries disclose medical education payments, too.

To learn more about the drug and device makers' plans:
- read this Associated Press piece

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