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US: Court weighs whether to let Actavis drop Alzheimer’s drug

By  |  April 13, 2015

Actavis Plc urged a U.S. appeals court on Monday to allow it to discontinue a top-selling Alzheimer’s drug in favor of a pricier extended-release version, a move that New York’s attorney general has said would suppress generic competition.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals peppered attorneys for Actavis and for the attorney general with questions, although the judges gave no clear indication of how they would rule.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed an antitrust lawsuit against Dublin-based Actavis last year in Manhattan federal court after the company said it was planning to discontinue Namenda IR in favor of Namenda XR. The two drugs have the same active ingredient, but Namenda XR is taken once daily instead of twice.

The lawsuit claimed that by forcing patients to switch to the new version, Actavis hoped to stave off competition from drug maker.

 

Full Content: Houston Chronicle

 

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