Bristol-Myers Squibb settles FTC Plavix probe
Executive Summary
BMS agrees to pay $2.1 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims that the company failed to report an agreement it made with Apotex to delay marketing of generic Plavix (clopidogrel). The FTC charged that BMS had violated the terms of a 2003 consent decree relating to its patent defense strategies for BuSpar (buspirone) and Taxol (paclitaxel) and provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act, both of which required the company to submit information on patent settlements to FTC. In December, BMS reached a $1.1 million settlement with the New York state attorney general on behalf of 50 states and the District of Columbia over the same claims. In 2007, BMS settled a Department of Justice investigation of its deal with Apotex, agreeing to plead guilty to a criminal charge and pay a $1 million criminal fine (1"The Pink Sheet" DAILY, May 10, 2007)