AstraZeneca wins Prilosec case against retail drug stores

WASHINGTON AstraZeneca recently won a court battle with Walgreens, Rite Aid and three other drug sellers that had accused the pharmaceutical company of breaking the law by how it marketed its blockbuster heartburn medication Nexium, according to Reuters.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the complaints and ruled that Walgreens, Rite Aid, Meijer, Louisiana Wholesale Drug and Burlington Drug Co. had failed to show that AstraZeneca violated antitrust law.

The drug sellers had accused AstraZeneca of breaking the law by trying to protect its sales by switching its marketing efforts from Prilosec to more expensive Nexium and an over-the-counter version of Prilosec months before Prilosec’s patent expired in 2001.

The court said AstraZeneca was within its rights to market Nexium to the detriment of Prilosec.