Drug giants in copycats row

ASTRAZENECA is pitted against major US companies in a growing political backlash over drugs makers' aggressive tactics to keep generic versions of blockbuster drugs off the shelves.

General Motors and other major employers who pay the bulk of America's healthcare bill are outraged at the extent to which major drug makers will go to protect their most profitable drugs from competition.

GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca are among the major drug companies using the US court system to delay competition, while other manufacturers have paid generic drug makers millions of dollars to keep inexpensive versions of blockbuster drugs off the shelves.

In a recent investigation of drug industry tactics, the Federal Trade Commission found evidence Abbott Labs agreed to pay Geneva Pharmaceuticals $4.5m (£3m) for every month it delayed marketing its version of Abbott's popular hypertension drug.

AstraZeneca, led by Tom McKillop, is fighting to stop generic rivals from bringing Prilosec to market, even though the main patent on one of the most profitable drugs in history expired months ago.

Other drug companies have lodged court challenges to generic versions of their bestselling drugs - GlaxoSmith-Kline lost a similar case this week - but none with such a massive assault as AstraZeneca, which filed a suit against 10 generic manufacturers. A judge is expected to rule in June but every day the case remains in court it shields $12m in US Prilosec sales from competition, analysts estimate.

Fortune 500 companies are demanding that Congress change drug laws to close loopholes in the 1984 law that makes it easier for big manufacturers to stop generic companies from going to market during litigation.

GM says it spends $1m every day on Prilosec for employees covered by its healthcare plan. Fortune 500 companies want Congress to craft new laws to ensure competition in the $138bn-a-year US drugs market once a drug's main ingredient is off patent.

AstraZeneca says the generic copies violate patents still in effect. 'It is what we depend on for the future in terms of resources for innovative research,' said senior director Steve Lampert. 'This is the lifeblood of our industry. We're taking some heat but we strongly believe it is the legal and the right thing to do.'

The FTC is reportedly investigating several drug companies for anti-competitive behaviour.