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US: NY Attorney General nabs victory in Actavis challenge

By  |  December 16, 2014

A federal judge issued an injunction Monday that prevents pharmaceutical conglomerate Actavis from pulling an older Alzheimer’s treatment from pharmacy shelves and replacing it with a newer version of the drug, a tactic known as product-hopping, say reports.

The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who argued that Forest Laboratories, owned by Actavis, was simply looking to protect profits by forcing customers to switch to the newer version of the drug by prematurely ending the sale of the older version. In doing so, Actavis releases its brand-name product before a cheaper, generic version can come onto the market and compete following the expiration of the brand name drug’s patent.

Reports say the older drug’s patent is set to expire in July, and the newer version’s patent expires in 2025.

Actavis will appeal the ruling, which followed a preliminary injunction announced last week.

Full content: Wall Street Journal

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