DuPont Settles Coumadin Suit.(DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company pays $44.5 million to settle class action lawsuit)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Chemical Market Reporter, August, 2001

DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company has agreed to pay $44.5 million to US consumers and third parties to resolve all class action lawsuits claiming that the company engaged in misleading practices in the marketing and promotion of the blood thinner Coumadin (warfarin sodium). DuPont expects the settlement to be finalized in the first quarter of 2002.

The issue traces back to 1995, when Barr Laboratories Inc. sought FDA approval to market a generic form of the drug. Barr was stalled a year later when DuPont petitioned the FDA, urging stricter standards for the approval of certain types of generics. FDA later adopted some of the measures but also approved Barr's application. DuPont continued to dispute the bioequivalence of Barr's drug.