Southern District of Ohio Judge Michael Watson dismissed several class actions brought by purchasers of Plavix, holding that the classes failed to allege antitrust injury because a valid patent restricted the sale of generic Plavix. The plaintiffs alleged that they had to pay more for the name brand drug because Sanofi-Aventis SA and Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co., patent holders for Plavix, conspired with Apotex Corp, a generic drug maker, to keep generic Plavix off the market.
The claims arose out of a patent infringement case between the patent holders of Plavix and Apotex Corp. in which the parties attempted to enter into an unfair settlement agreement. After the settlement was rejected by the FTC an injunction remained in place prohibiting the sale of generic Plavix. Judge Watson ruled that competition is lawfully excluded where a valid patent exists. He further stated that “The alleged ‘injury’ is from the lawful patent and Apotex’s lack of access to it. Such ‘injury’ is not of the type the antitrust laws were intended to prevent.”