Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Aventis may have harmed direct purchasers of DDAVP by conspiring to delay the release of a generic substitute for DDAVP.

Investigation and pending class action lawsuit against Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Aventis Pharmaceuticals with a proposed class of direct purchasers of the tablet form of DDAVP (desmopressin acetate).

DDAVP is an anti-diuretic drug used to treat excessive urination. Fering and Aventis are alleged to have worked together to extend their monopoly on DDAVP through a multi-faceted scheme, including defrauding the PTO into issuing a patent for DDAVP tablets, improperly listing that patent in an Food and Drug Administration ('FDA') registry known as the 'Orange Book', filing sham patent litigation against prospective generic competitors, and filing a sham citizen petition with the FDA. All of these efforts delayed less expensive, generic forms of DDAVP, forcing purchasers to pay artificially high prices. Although the complaint has been dismissed, an appeal was lodged before the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which has garnered supporting amicus curiae briefs from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorneys General of forty states, and several notable consumer groups.

Do not change medications without first consulting your doctor.