November 12, 2007

GSK Sues Abbott Over Norvir Price Hike

GlaxoSmithKline Plc filed a lawsuit against Abbott on Friday, November 9, over the price of Norvir, a boosting agent that works in conjunction with protease inhibitors (Bloomberg.com, 11/9).

According to GSK, the comparably high price of Norvir prevents the booster from being used with other drugs, such as GSK’s Lexiva, at a competitive price point. Abbott did not however raise the price of Kaletra, their protease inhibitor that includes Norvir.

“Abbott’s anticompetitive scheme protected Kaletra against new competitors that threatened its market dominance,” GSK said in a written complaint.

The lawsuit—filed in Oakland in federal court—is one of several filed against Abbott, who quadrupled the price from $1.71 per day in 2003 to $8.57 per day. According to the Abbott Park, Illinois, pharmaceutical giant, the price increase was a way to reflect its role as a boosting agent as opposed to a stand-alone drug.

Abbott representatives call this lawsuit “frivolous” and argue that the cost of Lexiva has increased five times since 2003.