Bristol-Myers Fined |$2.1 Million by FTC

(CN) - The Federal Trade Commission said it has fined Bristol-Myers Squibb $2.1 million for cutting a secret deal under which rival company Apotex agreed not to launch a generic version of Plavix, a blood thinner.

Bristol-Myers agreed to pay the fine for violating a 2003 FTC order requiring disclosure of such agreements, the FTC said.

Bristol-Myers failed to disclose the side deal, which it reached in a patent settlement, according to the FTC complaint. It says Apotex agreed to delay release of the generic drug for "several years," and that Bristol-Myers agreed not to compete with Apotex for 180 days after it did release the generic version.

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