(Updates with Glaxo comment in 3rd paragraph)
By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc has agreed to settle a lawsuit by Johnson & Johnson 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 Manhattanfederal court on Monday in which two Johnson & Johnson unitswere expected to ask a judge to block Glaxo from making variousclaims about its allergy nasal spray Flonase, records show.
Representatives for Johnson & Johnson and Glaxo in separatestatements called the settlement "mutually acceptable andamicable." The terms were confidential, they said.
Glaxo received approval from the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration to sell Flonase over the counter in July, settingthe stage for greater competition.
J&J units McNeil-PPC Inc and McNeil Consumer Healthcarefiled the lawsuit on March 12, accusing Glaxo of makingunsupported claims about Flonase at the expense of McNeil'sdrugs Benadryl and Zyrtec.
A Glaxo TV spot cited in the lawsuit said that Flonaseoutperforms 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 salesseason 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 forthe Southern District of New York, No. 15-1866. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Ted Botha)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)
