UPDATE 1-Ranbaxy, Ratiopharm raided in EU French drug probe

* Ranbaxy, Ratiopharm confirm EU raids at French units

* Sanofi, Teva, Novartis also visited by antitrust officials

* Lawyers see generic settlement deals as focus of probe

(Adds details, comment from lawyers, background)

By Ben Hirschler

LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Two more drugmakers said on Wednesday their French units had been raided by European antitrust regulators as part of a probe lawyers believe is focused on deals to delay the market entry of cheap generics.

India's Ranbaxy (RANB.BO) and Ratiopharm of Germany both said their French businesses had been visited, following similar admissions from Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA), Novartis (NOVN.VX) and Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA.TA) on Tuesday. [ID:nL6367611]

A spokesman for the European Commission, the EU watchdog, said only that there was reason to believe certain companies may have infringed EU competition rules prohibiting restrictive business practices and abuse of a dominant market position.

But lawyers said it seemed clear the antitrust taskforce was zeroing in on cosy settlement deals struck between makers of generic and branded medicines in France.

"A likely subject of the Commission's investigations is agreements with generic companies aimed at buying off challenges to the pharma companies' patents and delaying market entry of competing generic products," said Edward Miller, a partner at international law firm Reed Smith.

European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in July she would not hesitate to go after drugmakers that cut deals to hold back the introduction of less expensive unpatented medicines.

The European Commission estimates delays in generics pushed up consumers' bills by 20 percent between 2000 and 2007.

To date, the Commission has only launched one specific investigation -- looking at suspected blocks on generic versions of Servier's heart drug perindopril -- since launching a first round of raids on a range of drugmakers in January 2008.

"For observers who expected a flurry of infringement cases, the Commission's sector inquiry has up to now been something of a damp squib," said Suzanne Rab of law firm Hogan & Hartson. (Additional reporting by Caroline Jacobs in Paris and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; editing by Simon Jessop)