Several health insurers have reportedly secured a victory in their fight against UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca last week as the companies won the fight to keep the case at state-level court.
Reports say AstraZeneca and generic drug makers sought to move the case to federal court on the grounds that the pay-for-delay lawsuit involved the issue of whether the patent in question was valid at the time of any agreement made between the companies. Insurers including Blue Cross and Blue Shield as well as Aetna are accusing the pharmaceutical firms of illegally conspiring to delay the release of generic forms of medication.
But US District Judge Gerald McHugh ruled last week that while the question of the patent’s validity is relevant, it is not dispositive. “Plaintiffs can conceivably prove the existence of anticompetitive conduct in violation of state antitrust law without litigating the patent issue, but by instead relying on the nature of the settlements themselves,” he said.
Plaintiffs argue that AstraZeneca’s pay-for-delay agreements are considered anticompetitive under the precedence of the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in FTC v. Actavis.
Full content: Courthouse News Service
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Court Order Temporarily Halts U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Layoffs
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Nokia Poised to Gain EU Approval for $2.3 Billion Infinera Acquisition
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Turkey Fines Frito-Lay in Antitrust Crackdown
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Advances Bill to Strengthen Antitrust Enforcement Through AI
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Intel Faces Potential Breakup as Broadcom and TSMC Explore Deals
Feb 16, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon