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  • Orange Book Blog is published for informational purposes only; it contains no legal advice whatsoever. Publication of Orange Book Blog does not create an attorney-client relationship. Orange Book Blog is Aaron Barkoff's personal website and it is intended primarily for other attorneys. Orange Book Blog is not edited by McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP ("MBHB") or its clients. Therefore, no part of Orange Book Blog--whether information, commentary, or other--may be attributed to MBHB or its clients. Readers should be aware that MBHB represents many companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and therefore Orange Book Blog may occasionally report on news that relates to MBHB clients. Orange Book Blog will always strive to be unbiased in its reporting. All information on Orange Book Blog should be double-checked for its accuracy and current applicability. -- © Aaron F. Barkoff 2006-08

« Bill Proposed in House to Provide Escape for Late Patent Term Extension Filings | Main | Sandoz Requests TRO to Block FDA Approval of Generic Zocor Tomorrow »

June 22, 2006

Merck Launches Pre-Emptive Strike Against Generic Zocor

In advance of Merck's patent on Zocor expiring tomorrow (Friday), and the expected launch of generic versions of Zocor by Ivax (a Teva unit) and Ranbaxy, Merck has made deals with some insurance companies to sell branded Zocor for less than Ivax and Ranbaxy planned to charge for their generics.  Teva's stock price dropped about 10% yesterday on the news.  And Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced that he has written a letter to the FTC, requesting an investigation of Merck.

With Zocor going off-patent, Merck had already planned to stem its losses by cutting a deal with Dr. Reddy's to sell an authorized generic version of Zocor.  Now, in this new strategy (new to me, at least--please let me know if you've heard of it before), Merck plans to take on the generics directly by offering its branded drug for less than the generics.

Many good articles have been written about this in the last couple days.  Here are a few:

Also, an Israeli business website, Globes, has published this very interesting interview with Teva CEO Isreal Makov regarding Merck's surprising move.

Posted by Aaron Barkoff in Pharma Business News |

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