U.S. FTC accuses Ovation Pharma of price-gouging

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission sued Ovation Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday, accusing the private company of price-gouging for the only drugs used to close holes in the hearts of premature babies.

The commission accused Ovation of charging inflated prices for the two drugs -- Indocin and NeoProfen -- used to treat premature babies with a common heart defect called patent ductus arteriosus.

Ovation bought the rights to Indocin in 2005 and NeoProfen in January 2006.

"After ensuring that it would not face competition from NeoProfen, Ovation promptly raised the price of Indocin nearly 1,300 percent, from $36 to nearly $500 a vial. When it launched NeoProfen in July 2006, Ovation set a similarly inflated price," the commission said in a statement.

The heart defect affects about 3,000 babies in the United States each year, Dr. Alan Goldbloom, president of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, said in comments in Congress last summer.

Ovation had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by John Wallace)