Health care costs continue to escalate, and prescription drugs are no exception. While there may be some reasonable market forces at play, American consumers have the right to expect that pharmaceutical companies are not manipulating the market for life-changing drugs just so they can enhance their bottom line. Unfortunately, that is precisely what drug maker Wyeth may have done.
Effexor XR is an antidepressant used to treat generalized anxiety, social and panic disorders. Wyeth’s right to exclusively market Effexor XR should have expired in 2008. However, it appears that Wyeth may have engaged in inappropriate anti-competitive behaviors to delay the emergence of generic alternatives for two years. In order to prevent the generic form of Effexor from cutting into its profits, Wyeth may have fraudulently obtained patents for venlafaxine hydrochloride. Even though Wyeth had good reason to believe that no court would ever enforce these patents against Effexor generics, Wyeth nonetheless represented to the Patent And Trademark Office that its “new” drugs were deserving of protection (the result of which is to extend the exclusive marketing of Effexor). Wyeth may have also engaged in bad faith litigation to prevent generic drug manufacturers from marketing competing drugs. If these allegations are true, then Wyeth’s actions likely caused consumers to pay substantially more for their drugs than they otherwise would have.
If you or someone you know purchased Effexor XR, contact us to discuss your legal options.