Bayer heads to trial in US antitrust lawsuit over flea, tick medication
By Mike Scarcella
July 22 (Reuters) -A former unit of German life-sciences giant Bayer BAYGn.DE is squaring off in California federal court this week with a petcare startup that claims the company tried to block competition for animal tick and flea treatments.
Jurors in San Jose federal court heard opening statements on Monday in the antitrust case, which was brought by Tevra Brands in 2019 against Bayer Healthcare.
Tevra's lawsuit challenged a discount Bayer provided to some pet specialty retailers and distributors to exclusively carry its products and not to do business with rivals.
“Bayer made it harder and harder for retailers to carry generics," Daniel Owen, a lawyer for Tevra, told the jury on Monday.
Bayer's lawyer Daniel Asimow countered that Tevra failed because it was slow to get to market and had poor relationships with retailers. He told jurors that Bayer competed fairly in a market "crowded" with rivals.
"Generic companies have flourished — just not Tevra," Asimow said.
The trial is expected to last two weeks. Bayer has denied wrongdoing.
Bayer sold Bayer Animal Health, a Bayer Healthcare unit, five years ago to Elanco Animal Health ELAN.N in a $7.6 billion deal. Elanco is not a defendant. Bayer referred a request for comment to Elanco, which did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
Tevra’s attorneys declined to comment.
Americans spend billions of dollars a year on tick and flea treatment for pets, according to an expert for the plaintiffs.
Tevra said it was competing with Bayer’s Advantage and Advantix topical flea and tick treatments, and lost millions of dollars in revenue from its inability to more widely distribute its generic topical imidacloprid, the active ingredient in tick and flea treatment for cats and dogs.
The lawsuit said Bayer’s alleged scheme “ensured that both retailers and consumers pay supra-competitive prices.”
Tevra told the court last week that its co-founder and chairman of the board, Robert Scharf, was expected to testify “about the lucrative opportunity for a generic imidacloprid topical.”
Bayer has argued that its discount program was voluntary.
“The record evidence makes clear that retailers were free to purchase from other suppliers,” Bayer said in a court filing last week.
The case is Tevra Brands LLC v. Bayer Healthcare LLC, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 5:19-cv-04312.
For Tevra: Daniel Owen of Polsinelli
For Bayer: Daniel Asimow and Sonia Pfaffenroth of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer
Read more:
Bayer must face US company's flea and tick drug antitrust lawsuit
Reporting by Mike Scarcella
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
