Pharma Bro’s Former Drug Company To Settle Antitrust Class Action

A drug company once run by Martin Shkreli, Pharma Bro, has agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging it illegally tried to block generic versions of a life-saving medication whose price he famously raised, reported Reuters.

Vyera Pharmaceuticals in a proposed settlement filed on Friday in Manhattan federal court agreed to pay up to US$28 million, money that would derive from the up to US$40 million it already agreed last month to pay in a related case.

That case was brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven states. A federal judge later in the FTC’s case barred Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry for life and ordered him to pay US$64.6 million.

Related:  “Pharma Bro” Shkreli Loses Bid To Delay Antitrust Trial

Shkreli, who ran Vyera as chief executive when it was known as Turing Pharmaceuticals, is serving a seven-year prison sentence for securities fraud in an unrelated case.

Friday’s settlement would resolve claims that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota brought on behalf of other third-party payers that purchased Daraprim, which treats toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that threatens people with weakened immune systems.

Vyera; its parent company, Phoenixus AG; Shkreli; and former Vyera CEO Kevin Mulleady were all named as defendants and all agreed to settle the case. The deal requires the approval of US District Judge Denise Cote.

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