Another Supreme Court action seems to favor branded generics, i.e., generic drugs either manufactured by branded companies or manufactured as the result of deals between generics and brand-name companies. Branded generics are also called authorized generics. In June the Supreme Court refused to consider the appeal of a lawsuit brought by consumer groups against AstraZeneca and the generics manufacturer Barr Laboratories. The court let stand a ruling that an agreement between the two companies regarding the sale of a generic version of AstraZeneca's Nolvadex breast-cancer drug did not violate antitrust laws. Discount discussionThe consumer groups, joined by some labor union health plans, claimed that a 1993 agreement between Barr and Zeneca, a predecessor to AstraZeneca, blocked the sale of lower-cost generic versions. Zeneca had paid Barr $21 million to settle its challenge to the patent for Nolvadex, the chemical name for tamoxifen citrate, and gave Barr the right to sell tamoxifen made by AstraZeneca. Barr was selling the drug at an agreed 5-percent discount to AstraZeneca's price. The plaintiffs said the generic version would have sold for a far greater discount had it not been for the agreement.