Iowa has joined 21 other states in a lawsuit against two drug companies that make a birth-control pill called “Ovcon”.
Attorney General Tom Miller says the suit involves the original drug maker, Barr Pharmaceuticals, and Warner-Chilcott, which makes the generic version of the drug. He says Warner-Chilcott made a deal with Barr to get the rights to distribute the drug for 20-million dollars, plus twice the cost of production.
Miller says the lawsuit alleges that deal is a “naked restraint of trade.” He says they ask that the two companies be prohibited from doing this type of deal and are asking for civil penalties to the states and the Federal Trade Commission.
Miller says this case is not unusual. He says, “There’s been a pattern of activity by the companies to try and keep the competition out.” Miller says Ovcon first came on the market in 1976 and the generic version was brought to the market in 2004.