Barr Labs announced today in a press release that it has paid $22.5 million to settle antitrust claims brought in 1998 by Invamed and Apothecon, both of which are subsidiaries of Sandoz. The settlement comes on the same day that a trial in the case was scheduled to begin in the Southern District of New York.
The plaintiffs’ allegations stem from a 1995 exclusive supply agreement between Barr and ACIC/Brantford for clathrate, the primary raw material used to make warfarin. According to the plaintiffs, the agreement delayed their market entry for 16 months because ACIC/Brantford was the only supplier of clathrate at the time. Because of the agreement Barr was able to launch its generic warfarin product before the plaintiffs, and locked up much of the market as the first mover.
In May 2002, the district court (Sweet, J.) granted summary judgment to Barr on the plaintiffs’ antitrust claims of monopolization. However, the court also held that the plaintiffs could proceed to trial on their state law claims of tortious interference with contract. In October 2004, the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment, holding that the plaintiffs’ antitrust claims should also be heard.
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