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news.Bristol-Myers Squibb has been served with a subpoena by the Federal Trade Commission concerning a settlement with Apotex over the heart drug Plavix.
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The subpoena requested the production of documents and information relating to the proposed settlement of the Plavix patent litigation pending in the US. Bristol-Myers Squibb said it intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.
The litigation covered a claim by Apotex that the Plavix patent was invalid and therefore unenforceable. The companies agreed a settlement but this fell through when state attorneys general refused to sign off the agreement. As a result, a criminal investigation was launched by the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice into the proposed settlement with Apotex.
Bristol said it would not be possible at this time reasonably to assess the outcome of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation or of the investigation by the Department of Justice, or their impact on the company.