Koster
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced on Tuesday that Missouri and 32 other states have settled antitrust claims with two pharmaceutical companies.
Under the terms of the settlement with Aventis and Ferring, the state of Missouri will receive $78,971.37 from the agreement. Aventis markets and manufactures a prescription drug called DDAVP which is owned by Ferring.
DDAVP, or desmopressin, is used for the treatment of bed-wetting and diabetes. Aventis and Ferring allegedly delayed Barr Laboratories, its competitor, from selling DDAVP generic versions by giving materially misleading statements to the U.S. Patent Office.
"These companies tried to maintain a monopoly on DDAVP," Koster said. "Whenever a generic substitute is unlawfully delayed, the result is higher co-pays for consumers and insurers paying for drugs."
Aventis was part of a settlement in September in Pennsylvania where the state reached a $49 million settlement with Aventis, Pfizer, Schering and Bayer over allegations of artificially inflated drug prices to increase profits and sales.