Flovent, Arnuity Ellipta, Ventolin Inhalers Patents Antitrust Complaint

May 20, 2022

When patents for name-brand drugs expire and generic versions are allowed to enter the market, drug prices fall for consumers. But this class action alleges that GlaxoSmithKline, PLC (GSK) has managed to keeps its exclusivity and high prices with schemes to avoid competition for its inhalers. The complaint claims that the company has managed to obtain thirty-five years of “uninterrupted patent and regulatory protection” for its Flovent and Arnuity Ellipta inhalers and sixty years of it for its Ventolin inhalers, through a process called “device hopping.”