Healthy Skepticism Library item: 10307
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Publication type: news
Kennedy VB.
Bristol-Myers pleads guilty in Plavix case
MarketWatch 2007 May 30
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bristol-myers-pleads-guilty-federal-plavix/story.aspx?guid=%7BBE8967DF%2DA04B%2D4D59%2DB497%2DA9749E2DBFEC%7D&siteid=yhoof
Full text:
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges of lying to federal authorities about a failed deal with Apotex Inc., intended to delay generic competition for its blockbuster drug Plavix.
According to the Justice Department on Wednesday, Bristol-Myers has agreed to plead guilty to misleading the Federal Trade Commission in 2006 about a deal it struck with Apotex Inc. to settle ongoing litigation between the two over Plavix’s patents.
In an e-mailed statement to MarketWatch on Wednesday, a Bristol-Myers spokesman said that the agreement must still be accepted by a federal court. He said the company has not yet disclosed which court.
Apotex had been suing to have Plavix’s patents declared invalid so that it could release a generic version of the popular blood-thinner. The case was eventually heard in January, with a decision still pending.
According to the Justice Department on Wednesday, Bristol-Myers was required to have any patent-settlement agreements reviewed beforehand by the FTC, as per a previous settlement reached between the drugmaker and federal authorities over a separate investigation.
“The FTC warned BMS that it would not approve a settlement of the Plavix litigation if BMS agreed not to launch its own generic version of Plavix that would compete against Apotex for generic sales,” the government said in a statement.
“After nevertheless entering into such an agreement, BMS concealed it from and then lied about its existence to the FTC,” the agency added.
As a result of the plea, which was widely expected, Bristol-Myers will also pay $1 million in fines, the maximum penalty allowed, the Justice Department said.
On May 10, Bristol-Myers announced that it had reached an agreement in principle with the Justice Department to plead guilty to criminal charges, which would carry a maximum fine of $1 million. See full story.
The company co-markets Plavix, which had 2005 sales of $5.9 billion in 2005, with French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis which has been reportedly eyeing a takeover.
Last year, Bristol-Myers’ chief executive, Peter Dolan, was fired by the board after state and federal authorities questioned the company’s dealings with Apotex over Plavix. Board member James Cornelius, who formerly headed Guidant Corp., was named chief executive earlier this year.
