Healthy Skepticism Library item: 337

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Publication type: news

New York Sues GlaxoSmithKline Over Paxil
Associated Press 2004 May 18

Full text:

New York City is suing drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC, claiming that the company engaged in “anticompetitive, fraudulent, and inequitable conduct,” when it acquired patents for its anti-depressant Paxil.

The suit, filed in federal court in Philadelphia on Tuesday, accuses the London-based company of unfairly keeping generic versions of the drug off the market by obtaining more than a dozen “frivolous” patents on Paxil over the past decade.

“The sole purpose of these patent filings and suits was not to protect any conceivable novel scientific discovery, but only to support defendant’s rearguard action to protect their monopoly profits as long as possible,” the lawsuit said.

The city also accused GlaxoSmithKline of initiating frivolous lawsuits against firms it claimed had violated its patents.

The complaint accused the company of violating antitrust laws and seeks repayment of the millions of dollars the city has spent purchasing Paxil for New York residents through the Medicaid program.

The suit said the city could have saved money if generic versions of the drug, which became available last year when Paxil lost U.S. patent protections, had been available sooner.

Medicaid spent more than $23.1 million on Paxil for New York City residents in 2002, the suit said. The city picks up about 25 percent of all Medicaid costs.

Messages left Tuesday evening with GlaxoSmithKline officials were not immediately returned.