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COPYRIGHT 2004 The Boston Globe
Byline: Christopher Rowland
Oct. 19--The AFL-CIO and a Boston-based consumer advocacy group sued AstraZeneca yesterday, accusing the drug manufacturer of deceptively selling doctors and patients on the idea that Nexium, the nation's most heavily advertised prescription drug, is an improved purple pill.
The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles alleges that when AstraZeneca faced expiration of its patent on Prilosec in 2001, it launched a concerted effort to protect its anti-heartburn prescription franchise by dressing up the old drug with a new name.
In reality, the suit says, Americans who buy Nexium are getting virtually the same drug as Prilosec, just in a higher dose. AstraZeneca reported $3.3 billion in Nexium sales in 2003, driven by...
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