Coumadin Civil Suit

BDMc · Jan 18, 2006

Some years back I got a letter and some forms to join a civil suit against Dupont for pursuading doctors to only prescribe Coumadin when generics became available. My doctor was quite adamant about this, and for years I paid extra to get the "brand" drug. Sadly the suit covered the years I spent the least. But today I received a small check as my part of the settlement! A nice surprise I accept happily! I can't understand why they continue to raise the price for drugs like Coumadin that have been around for so long. I even put the question to some of Dupont's Pharm. people. I said I couldn't help but think it was just greed. No answer from them. Hope some of you got big checks! Brian

geebee · Jan 18, 2006

No money here. Didn't even know about the suit. But, then, I was part of the class action suite against Bjork-Shiley and that was a joke. The only people to really benefit from class action suits are the lawyers.

ccrawford · Jan 20, 2006

I have talked to several docs who really beleive that there is a difference between Coumadin and the generics - some of these are probably too young to have been influenced by any campaign. The participants on this site are probably the most informed and they have repeatedly been told by those who have switched, that it is not a big deal at all. In my pill supply, you will find three different manufacturers of warfarin.

Karlynn · Jan 20, 2006

My cardiologist is adament that I only take Coumadin and will not prescribe generic. Her response to the lawsuite was that just because a settlement was reached doesn't mean that DuPont didn't have right on it's side. She said "I've seen the exact ingredient list, and some of it is junk."

I disagree with her, but since that's the only thing we disagree on so far, I'll keep her as my cardio. The rest of her Coumadin management knowledge seems to be right on.

twinmaker · Jan 20, 2006

My cardiologist here in Tampa feels the same way as yours, Karlynn. When we first moved here two and a half years ago, I was on generic and the first thing he wanted me to do was switch to Coumadin. I like everything else about him, so this wasn't a big deal for me. He's pretty laid back and doesn't seem to panic about a lot of things so I guess because he felt so strongly about the Coumadin, I switched. LINDA

Guest · Jan 20, 2006

The fact is that the facts were against DuPont. The fact that they had to pay only something like $5 million has been written up in the publication Legal Thought Leader for Corporate Legal Executives as a case study in how to successfully defend a class action case. Even the lawyers are amazed that they got out of such serious charges as bribery, making false statements to the FDA, wrongfully discrediting a competitors product, and making false statements to influence the medical profession with such a light slap on the wrist.

There still has never been a study showing that there was harm by switching from Coumadin to warfarin. Individual reports but nothing very conclusive.

Karlynn · Jan 20, 2006

Al, I've seen some of the info on the suit and believe that there really is no difference between generic and Coumadin. It's perplexes me as to why my cardio (obviously an intelligent woman) doesn't buy it. But as I said - I like her in all other aspects so far, so am willing to comply with her wishes on Coumadin.