After ruling that Allergan's Actavis unit didn’t infringe Pfizer patents with its generic Lyrica version, a U.K. judge said Pfizer made "groundless threats" of legal action in an attempt to stop doctors and drugstores from offering generic alternatives.
According to Bloomberg, Judge Richard Arnold mentioned threatening letters and emails sent to British health authorities and pharmacy groups, where Pfizer implied the groups were breaking the law by offering generic versions of best-selling Lyrica. According to Arnold, the messages were “calculated to have a chilling effect on the willingness of pharmacies to stock and dispense generic pregalbin.”
Pfizer claims its intentions were only to communicate the existence of its second medical use patent for the use of Lyrica in pain. The drugmaker indicated plans to appeal the ruling.
Read the Bloomberg coverage
