Healthcare

A Mildura-based healthcare company and its boss have been committed to stand trial in the first criminal cartel case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against an Australian business.

An eight-day joint hearing in cases brought by Allergan alleging infringement of its Botox trade mark, which was due to commence Monday, has been unexpectedly vacated by the court, with barristers and legal teams left in the dark about the reasons.

A surgeon who was considering opening a health clinic in Coffs Harbour, NSW recorded one of the meetings central to the competition watchdog's action against Ramsay Health, in which alleged anti-competitive threats were made by a CEO of two Ramsay units, a court has heard. 

Mylan has renewed calls for a temporary injunction against Sun Pharma pending an appeal of a ruling invalidating its patents for Lipidil, and has sued a second generic drug maker, Cipla, over the cholesterol-lowering medication.

AFT Pharmaceuticals has agreed to a court order temporarily restraining it from distributing point of sale material containing updated claims that its painkiller Maxigesic is more effective than other over-the-counter medications.

German pharmaceutical company Boehringer has struck back at a patent lawsuit brought by Teva, filing a cross-claim alleging Teva is threatening to infringe three of its patents related to its blockbuster inhaler Spiriva with the planned launch of a competing inhaler in Australia.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Lundbeck secured $51.7 million in settlements to end infringement litigation with three generic makers over its patent for the top-selling Lexapro, the company has revealed.

Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Myers-Squibb can retain their defences in an ongoing patent dispute over antipsychotic drug Abilify, after the Federal Court dismissed a strike out bid by the Commonwealth of Australia over the allegedly "inconsistent" pleadings.

AFT Pharmaceuticals has filed a lawsuit seeking to pre-empt competitor Reckitt Benckiser from pursuing a lawsuit against it over recent ads for its painkiller Maxigesic.

Ramsay Health Care has denied its conduct towards a group of surgeons seeking to open a rival clinic in Coffs Harbour, NSW was anti-competitive or a misuse of market power, telling the court on the first day of trial that the venture was doomed to fail.