FTC files complaint over Cephalon's attempt at protection of Provigil market

WASHINGTON Cephalon is facing a lawsuit filed by antitrust enforcers regarding its Narcolepsy medicine, Provigil.

Provigil is Cephalon’s best-selling drug, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the civil complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission stated that Cephalon was illegally delaying the sale of the drug by four rivals that were slated to produce and market the generic version of the drug. The sales of Provigil are a recorded $800 million per year.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, companies including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Barr Pharmaceuticals, and Mylan Pharmaceuticals, were given a combined $200 million to push off the genetic version of their drug from market entry until 2012.

Cephalon denies any wrongdoing. “The transactions we reached met the letter and spirit of the law in every way,” Frank Baldino, Cephalon’s chief executive, said, “and we will litigate this matter, and we will prevail.”