Dive Brief:
- Johnson & Johnson accused GSK of making false claims about its OTC allergy therapy, Flonase (fluticasone). The company aruged that these claims came at the expense of J&J's Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and Zyrtec (cetirizine).
- J&J units McNeil-PPC Inc and McNeil Consumer Healthcare filed a suit against GSK on March 12 for allegedly making false Flonase claims.
- Glaxo received approval to sell OTC Flonase in July.
Dive Insight:
The claims in question were made in the context of television advertising in which GSK said that Flonase outperforms the number one allergy pill, which was not named in the ad.
The ad went on to say that Flonase controls six allergy symptoms versus one for competitor drugs. When McNeil filed the suit against GSK for allegedly making false claims, that company noted that the available clinical evidence, in the form of studies, does not support GSK's claims. Moreover, McNeil noted that these false claims were injurious in light of the timing—the start of allergy season.
Although specific terms were not disclosed, the suit has now been settled.