Addicted to profit
Fifteen US states have filed a US $100 million lawsuit against Aventis, a Franco-German drug group, and Andrx Pharmaceuticals Incorporation, an us generic drug maker. The suit alleges that Aventis paid Andrx almost US $90 million to delay the introduction of a cheaper generic version of one of Aventis' best-selling heart drugs, Cardizem CD.
To protect themselves from the generic manufacturers, the patent holders have the legal sanction to file an infringement suit against the generic drug manufacturers when they file an application with the fda to market their products. This automatically delays the release of the generic version by 30 months. Another way of protecting themselves, is the misuse of the Hatch-Waxman Act. As per the act once the generic drug manufacturer gets an approval from the FDA for marketing its product, it holds exclusive rights in the market for a period of 180 days. Even other generic drug makers cannot enter the market during this 180-day period. The patent holders then get into an agreement with the generic drug manufacturers under which they agree not to launch the cheaper drug in the market in exchange for financial incentives.