Amgen agreed to pay Ortho Biotech $200 million to settle the antitrust case in which Amgen was accused of giving discounts to oncology clinics on bundled Neupogen , Neulasta and Aranesp .

Ortho, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, sells Procrit (epoetin alfa) as a competitor with Aranesp in the non-dialysis RBCGF market, and claimed it was harmed by Amgen's practices (¹ Also see "Amgen Bundling Discounts Will Continue As J&J Case Heads To Trial" - Pink Sheet, 22 November, 2006.).

In the agreement disclosed July 11, Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen continues to deny its conduct was unlawful, and the case will be dismissed in the New Jersey District Court with prejudice.

According to Ortho's complaint, doctors and clinics got tiered discounts for buying a portfolio of Amgen's anemia therapies under the Amgen Portfolio Contract 2006, effective Oct. 1, 2005.

Included in the deal were the white blood cell growth factors Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) and Neupogen (filgrastim), and the red blood cell factor erythropoietins Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) and Epogen (epoetin alfa).

To qualify, a clinic had to meet an Aranesp volume target equivalent to 65 percent of its average quarterly red blood cell growth factor purchases during the first and second quarters of 2005.

Clinics got additional rebates of 14 percent to 20 percent on Neulasta and 19 percent to 25 percent on Neupogen.

- Randall Osborne (r.osborne@elsevier.com)

Amgen Pays $200M To Settle Antitrust Claim

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