Former Bristol Myers-Squibb Exec Indicted For Lying About Plavix Deal

Andrew Bodnar, a doctor and former senior vice president of Bristol Myers-Squibb, on Wednesday was indicted in US District Court in Washington on one count of violating of the Federal False Statements Act for allegedly lying to the FTC about a secret settlement of a challenge to the company’s Plavix patent. The indictment charges that in 2006, he negotiated a secret agreement between Bristol Myers-Squibb and the Canadian generic drug manufacturer Apotex Inc., failed to submit it to the FTC and later lied to the FTC by denying the existence of the agreement. Apotex had filed suit against Bristol Myers challenging the validity of its patent on Plavix and was threatening to market a generic equivalent. In the supposedly undisclosed deal, Bristol Myers allegedly agreed not launch a generic version of Plavix when its patent expires in 2011 if Apotex agreed not to launch its Plavix generic until 2011. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Bristol Myers pleaded guilty to related charges in the case last June and paid a $1 million fine (Reuters, NYT).