HEALTH
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Ivax Corp.’s Buyout of Competitor Gets FTC Approval: The Miami-based firm, the nation’s No. 1 generic drug company, received approval from antitrust regulators to buy Zenith Laboratories, but only after agreeing not to monopolize sales of the heart drug Verapamil ER. The drug accounted for about $146 million in Ivax sales last year. Ivax signed a legally binding agreement concerning the drug, sold under the brand name Calan SR. Ivax and Northvale, N.J.-based Zenith are the only two companies that make generic versions. The drug is used to treat high blood pressure and angina. Ivax’s agreement with the Federal Trade Commission sets up an arrangement allowing at least one other company to sell the drug.
