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J&J, Glaxo settle U.S. lawsuit over allergy ads

Reuters - UK Focus

By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc (Other OTC: GLAXF - news) has agreed to settle a lawsuit by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ - news) accusing it of using false advertising at the start of the U.S. allergy season to grab market share.

The settlement was disclosed during a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Monday in which two Johnson & Johnson units were expected to ask a judge to block Glaxo from making various claims about its allergy nasal spray Flonase, records show.

Terms of the settlement were not immediately available.

Jodie Wertheim, a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman, said the company was pleased to have reached a mutually acceptable and amicable settlement.

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A spokeswoman for Glaxo had no immediate comment.

Glaxo received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell Flonase over the counter in July, setting the stage for greater competition.

J&J units McNeil-PPC Inc and McNeil Consumer Healthcare filed the lawsuit on March 12, accusing Glaxo of making unsupported claims about Flonase at the expense of McNeil's drugs Benadryl and Zyrtec.

A Glaxo TV spot cited in the lawsuit said that Flonase outperforms the No. 1 allergy pill, which the ad does not name, and controls six allergy symptoms versus one by the other pill.

The McNeil units said studies do not support the claims. McNeil said it stood to be harmed with the prime allergy sales season quickly approaching, and sought an injunction.

The case is McNeil-PPC Inc and McNeil Consumer Healthcare v. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare LP, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 15-1866. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Ted Botha)