MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Brad Schimel announced today that Wisconsin and a coalition of 22 other states recently reached an agreement with Teikoku Seiyaku and Teikoku Pharma USA to prohibit anticompetitive conduct for 20 years.
Teikoku is accused of illegal conduct due to its participation in an agreement to protect a monopoly on Lidoderm. Lidoderm is the brand-name for lidocaine patches, which is a transdermal patch widely prescribed for pain relief associated with post-herpetic neuralgia, a common complication of shingles.
“When a company tries to rig the system to its advantage, consumers suffer the consequences, which can lead to fewer treatment options,” Attorney General Schimel said. “Our antitrust laws protect us against such unfair business activities. This agreement also allows us to bring enforcement actions in the future, as greater enforcement is needed to stop the proliferation of these pay-for-delay agreements which prevent competition in the drug market to the detriment of consumers.”
The lengthy 20-year injunction prohibits Teikoku from paying or incentivizing a generic drug maker to delay entry into the drug market or from researching, developing, manufacturing, marketing, or selling any drug product.
Teikoku Seiyaku Co., Ltd., is the for-profit parent company of Teikoku Pharma USA, its wholly-owned California-based subsidiary. Teikoku Pharma, through its parent company, is one of the largest pharmaceutical patch manufacturers in the world.
Copies of relevant court filings are attached.
