Is Bristol-Myers Checkmated?
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. may be losing its grip on the $1.5 billion cancer drug Taxol. On Sept. 6, a U.S. district court judge said a patent that might block generic drugmaker Ivax from making a cheaper version of Taxol did not have to be considered when the Food & Drug Administration decides whether to approve the generic version. Even worse for Bristol, the Federal Trade Commission has disclosed it was investigating whether a pact Bristol struck with a third party over that patent is an anticompetitive maneuver to keep Ivax away from Taxol.
