Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: FTC Contends That Drug Reformulations Can Suppress Generic Competition, (Nov 28, 2012)

By William Zale, J.D.

The FTC has taken the position that generic drug firm Mylan Pharmaceuticals stated a claim of unlawful exclusionary conduct under the Sherman Act by alleging that branded drug company Warner Chilcott used product reformulations to manipulate the pharmaceutical regulatory system and thereby suppress generic competition. The FTC’s amicus brief dated November 21 in Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Warner Chilcott Public Limited Co. was filed in the federal district court in Philadelphia.

The FTC maintains that, like the plaintiffs in Abbott Labs v. Teva Pharms. USA, Inc., 432 F. Supp. 2d 408, 422, 2006-1 Trade Cases ¶75,270 (D. Del. 2006), Mylan stated a plausible claim that Warner’s product reformulations constitute an unlawful means of preserving monopoly power in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

The case is Civil Action No. 12-3824.

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews