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J&J Must Face Walgreens, Kroger Antitrust Suit Says 3rd Circ.

By  |  February 23, 2020

A US appeals court on Friday, February 21, revived a lawsuit by Walgreen and Kroger accusing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) of unlawfully restricting access to lower-cost “biosimilar” versions of its drug Remicade. 

Reversing a lower court, the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals stated contracts Walgreens and Kroger entered into with drug wholesalers gave the pharmacies the right to sue J&J for antitrust violations.

The retailers had lodged their suit in Pennsylvania federal court last year, accusing J&J of illegally shielding its blockbuster drug from competitors and charging artificially inflated prices for the treatment. Their suit cited the same core allegations that had sparked earlier legal action from other players in the pharmaceutical industry, including one from rival drugmaker Pfizer and a proposed class suit lodged by other buyers along the Remicade distribution line.

Full Content: Reuters

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