Protection racket

“IF YOU can't beat them, bribe them” is an age-old business tactic, but it is coming under fire in the pharmaceutical industry. On May 14th, 15 American states sued Aventis, a Franco-German drug group, and Andrx, an American generic-drug maker. The suit claims Aventis paid Andrx almost $90m to delay the introduction of a cheaper, generic version of one of Aventis's bestselling heart drugs when its American patent expired in 1998. The states are claiming $100m in compensation for the higher prices they have had to pay in the absence of generic alternatives. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded that the arrangement between Aventis and Andrx had blocked others' entry to the market.