Teva sues Corcept over mifepristone 'monopoly' for rare disorder

Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated

13/06/2024 22:32

By Mike Scarcella
       June 13 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceuticals  TEVA.TA  sued
rival drugmaker Corcept Therapeutics  CORT.O  in federal court
in San Francisco on Thursday, accusing it of monopolizing the
market for mifepristone-based Korlym, used to treat a rare
hormonal disorder called Cushing's syndrome.
    The lawsuit said Corcept and specialty pharmacy Optime Care,
the sole distributor of Korlym, orchestrated “a multifaceted
scheme to prolong Corcept’s monopoly by stifling competition
from Teva at every turn.” Teva accused Corcept of "paying bribes
and kickbacks" to physicians to keep them prescribing brand
Korlym. 
    Korlym's active ingredient is mifepristone, the same drug
used for medication abortion at the center of Thursday’s U.S.
Supreme Court ruling that rejected a legal challenge seeking to
curtail access to the drug for terminating pregnancies. 
    Teva's antitrust lawsuit, which does not refer to the drug's
use for abortion, said Corcept and Optime have a long-term
exclusive-dealing arrangement that bars Optime from distributing
any medication that competes with Korlym.
    Corcept and Optime did not immediately respond to requests
for comment on Thursday.
    Teva in a statement said that Corcept's anticompetitive
conduct "has prevented patients with Cushing’s syndrome from
accessing lower-cost generics to treat their debilitating
disease.”  
    Cushing’s, caused by too much of the hormone cortisol in the
body, affects about 20,000 people in the United States and can
be fatal, the lawsuit said. Symptoms include abnormal weight
gain and a fatty hump between the shoulders.
    Teva said it launched its generic version of Korlym five
months ago, but “during that time Teva has captured close to
zero market share.”
    The lawsuit said Teva has tried to convince Optime to
distribute Teva's generic Korlym, but Optime has refused.
    "Optime’s representatives made clear that there was nothing
Teva could do to gain access to the Optime distribution
channel," according to the lawsuit.
    Teva accused Corcept of artificially inflating the cost of
Korlym based on the company’s market power. The lawsuit said a
year’s supply of the drug can be “several hundred thousand
dollars or more.”
    Corcept sued Teva in 2018 in New Jersey federal court for
allegedly infringing on Korlym patents. A judge ruled for Teva
last year, and Corcept has appealed.

 (Reporting by Mike Scarcella
Editing by David Bario and Rod Nickel)
 ((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))