Court approves $44.5 million Coumadin settlement

[JimChicago]

How do we collect our share?

From:
http://www.wnep.com/global/story.asp?s=2670984&ClientType=Printable
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Court approves $44.5 million Coumadin settlement

PHILADELPHIA The federal appeals court in Philadelphia has upheld a class action settlement in a lawsuit involving the blood-thinning medication Coumadin (KOO'-mah-din).

DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company has agreed to pay 44-point-five (m) million dollars to resolve charges that it unfairly claimed the generic equivalents of Coumadin weren't safe.

A group of DuPont customers had sued the drug maker, claiming that it tried to stave off competition in the late 1990s by disseminating false and misleading information about generic versions of Coumadin
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[Karlynn]

Very interesting. And just as I am about to ask my card to try and switch me to generic, since the cost of my Rx for Coumadin is going up by 20%.

 

[tobagotwo]

Probably going up to pay for this settlement. Bad timing on their part, I'd say. Good luck and smooth sailing with generic sodium warfarin!

Best wishes,

 

[McCln]

Very interesting indeed. I have take both with no problems, but that is beside the point. The otherside is that people have had problems with various generic versions of many drugs. What do they get, nothing. Well, I hope that they have learned something from this, whatever it is.

 

[Harpoon]

The suit was over a marketing issue, I wonder if makers of the generics can sue now too as well for damaging the reputations of their products...


I've been on the generic since the bottle I got from Cleveland Clinic before I left ran out. I gather some people have noticed a slight change in their IRN/dosage when switching from one form of warfarin to another, a potency thing, not neccesarily a quality issue, but the change has been nearly insignificant. Not like the change one might see when switching from aspirin to tylenol for a headache.

 

[Guest]

The deadline to sing up was years ago. This must be the court approving the settlement. Du Pont was bought out several years ago. The point of the case was that Du Pont was marketing Coumadin saying that it was better made than the generics. They were unable to prove it. So 44.5 mil down the drain. Result - higher prices for Coumadin.