In a setback to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a legal adviser to the European Court of Justice suggested the drug maker may have restricted competition when it reached patent settlements with several generic companies that sought to market a version of the Paxil antidepressant.
Although not legally binding, the determination supports a decision made three years ago by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, which argued that between 2001 and 2004, Glaxo paid several generic companies more than $65 million to effectively delay the launch of lower-cost versions of its pill. The patent on the antidepressant, known as Seroxat in the U.K., expired in 1999.
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