Update September 2009: The California State Courts have granted summary judgment in favor of Barr in a case brought under that state’s antitrust laws by indirect purchasers challenging the reverse payment settlement in conjunction with the drug Cipro. The state court cited the Federal Circuit’s opinion holding that reverse payment settlement’s ordinarily did not violate the antitrust laws and held that California state antitrust law (the Cartwright Act) is identical to federal law for these purpsoes.
Update: November 2008: Barr has settled with plaintiffs CVS and Walgreens, but not Meijer.
A District of Columbia federal district court judge recently denied Barr Pharmaceuticals’ motion for summary judgment in a case alleging that Barr accepted a $20 million payment not to release a generic version of the oral contraceptive Ovcon. Rejecting the plaintiff’s argument that the agreement was unlawful per se, the court held that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether Ovcon constituted a relevant market or whether other oral contraceptives had to be included.