Amended Glaxo AZT patent case filed in US court
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has filed an amended federal patent piracy case in US Federal Court for Central District of California (Western Division) against UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) over the patent for AZT and other subsequent derivative AIDS drugs.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has filed an amended federal patent piracy case in US Federal Court for Central District of California (Western Division) against UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) over the patent for AZT and other subsequent derivative AIDS drugs.
AHF's initial complaint had been dismissed in March 2003, 'without prejudice', allowing the largest AIDS organisation in the US to amend and re-file its action against GSK. The company controls 40% of the US AIDS drug market.
The initial anti-trust lawsuit was filed in July 2002 and challenged GSK's patents and their right to exclude competition in the markets for its anti-viral prescription drugs AZT, Ziagen and 3TC, as well as its pricing. The amended complaint concentrates on the patents for AZT and subsequent derivative AIDS drugs, namely Abacavir, 3TC, Combivir and Trizivir, and GSK's monopolisation of the market for these drugs. AHF is suing for damages created by what it claims are artificially high prices for these AIDS drugs.