Updated: November 2016

New York v. Actavis PLC and Forest Laboratories LLC

Along with Consumers Union, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG and others, Consumer Action filed a brief supporting the attorney general of New York in a lawsuit against Actavis and its subsidiary Forest Laboratories to stop them from discontinuing the widely used Alzheimer's drug Namenda. It is alleged that the company improperly extended its monopoly on Namenda past its patent expiration date. This forced patients to switch to a “new” version of the company’s drug before a generic version was made available. In December 2014 a federal judge ruled that the company must continue to sell generic Namenda. The consumer groups filed their brief in February with the appeals court, where the defendants have filed to overturn the ruling. The brief argues that the decision should stand because its “forced switch” of the drug is anticompetitive and harms vulnerable Alzheimer’s patients. The case is New York v. Actavis PLC and Forest Laboratories LLC.