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Published on FiercePharma (http://www.fiercepharma.com)

Drugmakers cut deals in price-inflation suit

By admin
Created Sep 19 2007 - 6:59am

Remember the legal wrangle over the price of cancer drugs? The lawsuit pitted insurers, patients, attorneys general--perhaps even a few kitchen sinks--against 30 drug companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Schering Plough. At issue: Whether the companies artificially inflated drug prices, then sold the drugs to doctors at a discount, giving doctors the spread--and themselves an unfair advantage over competitors who weren't playing the game (though with so many companies allegedly involved, who wasn't?).

The latest? GlaxoSmithKline settled for $70 million, and Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca are cutting deals. In June, a judge found Bristol-Myers, AstraZeneca and Schering-Plough liable for the price inflation. No word yet on whether Schering-Plough is also negotiating a settlement.

- read this item [1] from The Wall Street Journal


Source URL:
http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/drugmakers-cut-deals-price-inflation-suit/2007-09-19