Pfizer, Ranbaxy Sued Over Lipitor Prices by 11 Pharmacies
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. (RBXY) were accused by 11 California pharmacies in a lawsuit of agreeing to hold back a generic version of the cholesterol- lowering drug Lipitor in the U.S. and then fixing its price.
As a result of an unlawful agreement with generic-maker Ranbaxy, Pfizer was able to make $18 billion by extending its time as the exclusive U.S. source of Lipitor, the pharmacies claimed in a lawsuit filed Nov. 7 in federal court in San Francisco. In exchange, Pfizer allegedly allowed Ranbaxy to distribute the generic of Lipitor earlier in foreign markets.
Lipitor sells for more than $4 a day compared with prices as low as 10 cents day for the generic, the drug stores said in their complaint. Lipitor’s purchasers in the U.S. are paying inflated costs as a result, the pharmacies said.
Lipitor, which generated $10.7 billion in revenue for New York-based Pfizer last year, loses U.S. patent protection on Nov. 30. A legal settlement with Pfizer gave New Delhi-based Ranbaxy six months’ exclusivity to market generic Lipitor, the world’s best-selling drug.
The lawsuit seeks disgorgement of profits from the allegedly illegal arrangement and triple damages.
Chris Loder, a Pfizer spokesman, said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission reviewed the terms of the 2008 settlement.
“Pfizer believes this suit has no merit and we are confident that the Lipitor patent settlement with Ranbaxy is appropriate,” Loder said in a telephone interview. “We view the suit as nothing more than an attempt to extract money.”
Chuck Caprariello, a spokesman for Ranbaxy, didn’t immediately return a voice-mail message yesterday seeking comment on the complaint.
The case is Chimes Pharmacy v. Pfizer, 11-5375, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).
To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco at kgullo@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.
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