States sue Suboxone drugmaker, claiming antitrust violations

[avcpl]

A lawsuit filed by 35 states and the District of Columbia alleges that drugmaker Indivior violated antitrust laws by trying to extend its monopoly over Suboxone, New York's attorney general announced Thursday. Suboxone is a prescription drug used to treat patients addicted to heroin, painkillers and other opioid drugs.

The company's actions drove up prices, depriving consumers and the states of lower costs, according to California's attorney general.
The states want Indivior to pay back the billions of dollars in profits earned as a result of its alleged practices.
The company and MonoSol Rx conspired to block generic competitors for Suboxone by switching the drug from a tablet to a dissolving film, the lawsuit claims. As a result, consumers have been paying artificially high prices for Suboxone since 2009, when a generic alternative might otherwise have become available.

more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/23/health/suboxone-lawsuit-antitrust/

 

[S.J.B.]

So why don't the doctors just switch back to the generic pills, now that they are out? Are they mindless robots who can't make their own decisions? Indivior certainly did not act admirably here (whether or not they acted legally is another question) but the premise here - that pharmaceutical companies, and not physicians, are ultimately responsible for the drugs that are prescribed to patients - is pretty unsettling. I won't deny that, in many cases, it probably reflects the truth, and that shouldn't be the case. It's a physician's responsible to independently investigate which drugs to prescribe, not just to prescribe those that are advertised to him.

 

[neversickanymore]

They should go after the narcon monopoly as well

 

[chelle216]

So why don't the doctors just switch back to the generic pills, now that they are out? Are they mindless robots who can't make their own decisions? Indivior certainly did not act admirably here (whether or not they acted legally is another question) but the premise here - that pharmaceutical companies, and not physicians, are ultimately responsible for the drugs that are prescribed to patients - is pretty unsettling. I won't deny that, in many cases, it probably reflects the truth, and that shouldn't be the case. It's a physician's responsible to independently investigate which drugs to prescribe, not just to prescribe those that are advertised to him.

The problem lies in the fact that doctors routinely get some kind of kickback for prescribing brand name drugs. It's really up to patients to advocate for themselves if they prefer a generic over a brand name drug.