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Durogesic is sold as a skin patch to control on-going moderate
to severe pain and is often prescribed in cancer cases. It
contains fentanyl, an opioid which, if misused, can lead to
death by overdose.
The French Autorite de la Concurrence said J&J's Janssen had
"repeatedly intervened" to block the approval processes in
France of Durogesic's generic copies and disparaged them when in
contact with doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Officials at J&J could not be immediately reached for comment.
The case was brought to the watchdog by German firm Ratiopharm,
later acquired by Israel's Teva pharmaceuticals, after Durogesic
lost its patent in 2005.
In 2013, France's Sanofi was ordered to pay 40.6 million euros
for disparaging generic competition to its Plavix blood thinner.
(This version of the story refiles to fix typographical error in
headline.)
(Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
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