Barr Laboratories Inc. was founded in
New York in 1970 by Edwin A. Cohen. Starting in 1991 Barr Laboratories was involved in a scandal stemming from their violation of GMP regulations concerning handling of out-of-specification (OOS) test results. In 1993 Barr Labs lost a lawsuit stemming from these findings, resulting in new industry interpretations of FDA regulations regarding out of specification test results. In 1993, Bruce L. Downey joined the company as its
president and in 1994, he became
chairman and
chief executive officer of the company. In 1993, the company settled a
patent infringement case and began distributing a generic version of
tamoxifen citrate, a treatment for
breast cancer. In 1995, the company received approval to manufacture and sell a generic version of
zidovudine (AZT), a treatment for
AIDS. In 1996, the company became the first to receive approval from the
Food and Drug Administration to market generic
Warfarin, which was previously only sold by
DuPont. In 2001, the company acquired Duramed Pharmaceuticals for $589 million in stock. In August 2001, after a 5-year legal battle with
Eli Lilly and Company, the company began selling a generic version of
Prozac. In 2003, the company acquired Endeavor Pharmaceuticals for $35 million. In 2004, the company acquired Women's Capital, maker of Plan B
emergency contraceptives. In October 2006, the company acquired
Pliva. On December 23, 2008, the company was acquired by
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and became part of
Teva Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (TAPI). ==References==