Previous Story
CNMI expects to net $10K in Motrin settlement
|
Posted on Sep 05 2004
The CNMI stands to receive some $10,000 from two U.S. drug manufacturers in a settlement of a federal law enforcement action that accused the companies of antitrust violations that resulted in the destruction of market competition of a certain over-the-counter generic brand.
In a media statement, Attorney General Pamela Brown disclosed that the CNMI, along with 49 other U.S. states and territories, reached a settlement with Perrigo and Alpharma.
The two companies are the only Federal Drug Administration-approved manufacturers of the generic over-the-counter liquid suspension Ibufropen, a drug product used to temporarily reduce fever and relieve minor aches and pains in children.
“The states allege that, in 1998, Perrigo and Alpharma entered into an agreement that gave Perrigo 100-percent of the market for generic versions of this product. The states further allege that Alpharma never began selling its generic product, and that Perrigo captured a 100-percent share of the market,” the media release stated.
“The lack of competition caused retail stores that sell store brand products to pay more for this product than they would have paid in a competitive market,” the AGO explained.
The connivance destroyed market competition in the sale of the generic brand Children’s Motrin. The AGO clarified the product is different from Motrin, a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson, which was not a party to the case.
The antitrust violations cropped up after joint investigations conducted by certain states and the Federal Trade Commission. The AGO said the U.S. District Court of Columbia approved the settlement.
Besides agreeing to pay the CNMI some $10,000, the drug companies would pay approximately $1 million to funds administered by the National Association of Attorneys General to help support future antitrust enforcement actions.
