A PYMNTS Company

The Netherlands Accuses AbbVie Of Overcharging For Humira

By  |  February 21, 2023

The Pharmaceutical Accountability Foundation is taking AbbVie to court in the Netherlands for allegedly overcharging Dutch citizens for rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, The Financial Times reported. 

The foundation said in a statement that AbbVie had abused its dominant position in the market from 2004 to 2018 “to keep prices and profits high”. 

Related: AbbVie’s Humira Patent Suit Survives Antitrust Appeal

Wilbert Bannenberg, the PAF’s chair, said: “By making excessive profits, amounting to €68 per Dutch citizen, AbbVie has displaced other healthcare, and thus damaged the health of Dutch citizens. 

“No doctor wants to be forced to prioritise one patient [or] treatment over another due to limited budgets.” Lawsuits surrounding access to drugs are nothing new. 

The human rights element of the lawsuit brought by PAF against AbbVie is novel because it considers the overall effect of high prices on healthcare and society, even for those who did not directly access the drug, rather than focusing on one single molecule.