US: Walgreen sues Endo, claiming pay-for-delay on generic drug

Walgreen, the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, teamed with Kroger, the largest U.S. grocery chain, to accuse Endo Health Solutions Inc. and Impax Laboratories of conspiring to delay the introduction of lower-cost versions of an opioid painkiller.

Walgreen, Kroger, and three other grocery chains – Safeway Inc., HEB Grocery Co., and Albertson’s – filed an antitrust suit Friday in federal court in Chicago over delays in the rollout of generic alternatives to Opana ER. The suit joins 11 others against units of Endo International.

Endo is officially based in Dublin, Ireland, but its executives work from Malvern, Montgomery County. Impax is headquartered in Hayward, Calif., and has facilities in Philadelphia and Chalfont, Bucks County.

The chains say in their complaint that “Endo paid Impax more than $112 million in cash in exchange for Impax’s agreement to delay the launch of its less-expensive generic versions of Opana ER for 21/2 years.”

Full Content: San Antonia Express News

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