As noted in a June 18 post, Zocor, one of the statin heart drugs, goes generic this Friday, and its manufacturer Merck is fighting back. According to the Wall Street Journal and other press accounts, Merck negotiated with United Healthcare Group a Zocor price that is below the price that generic manufacturer Teva is charging for its generic equivalent to Zocor. United Healthcare will be treating cut rate Zocor as a Tier 1 drug with the lowest copay and the generic Zocor as a Tier 3 drug with the highest copay in its health plans.
In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, Sen. Charles Schumer has accused Merck of foul play. It looks like competition to me.