Mealey's Drugs & Devices
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June 16, 2020
Cigna Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against 42 Generic Drug Makers For Market Conspiracy
PHILADELPHIA — Health care insurer Cigna Corp. on June 9 filed an antitrust complaint in a Pennsylvania federal court against 42 generic drug manufacturers alleging that they conspired to allocate market share, fix prices and rig bids (Cigna Corp. v. Actavis Holdco US, Inc., et al., No. 20-2711, E.D. Pa.).
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June 16, 2020
Indiana Supreme Court Sends Essure Case Back To Appeals Court
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court on June 12 reversed a state appeals court’s decision in a multiple-plaintiff Essure birth control device lawsuit, saying the intermediate court needs to examine whether all of the 36 plaintiffs’ claims meet the state’s pleading requirement, not just one of them (Bayer Corporation, et al. v. Rene Leach, et al., No. 20S-CT-354, Ind. Sup., 2020 Ind. LEXIS 471).
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June 16, 2020
Judge Cuts Namenda Attorney Fee From $157.5M to $69.53M As Not Fair, Reasonable
NEW YORK — Saying that a request for $157.5 million in attorney fees in the Namenda antitrust case is not “fair and reasonable,” a New York federal judge on June 15 reduced the award to $69.53 million (In re Namenda Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, No. 15-7488, S.D. N.Y., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104028).
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June 16, 2020
FDA Revokes Emergency Use Authorization For Chloroquine, Hydrochloroquine
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on June 15 revoked its emergency use authorization (EUA) for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to be used to treat certain patients hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19.
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June 11, 2020
U.S. High Court Won’t Review 9th Circuit OK For Actos National Refund Class
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 8 denied review of two Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rulings affirming certification of a national refund class of diabetics who purchased the drug Actos but who allegedly weren’t warned that the drug could cause bladder cancer in certain patients (Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, et. al. v. Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82 Health Care Fund, et al., No. 19-1069, U.S. Sup.).
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June 15, 2020
U.S. High Court Won’t Review Discovery Order In Generic Drug MDL
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 denied a motion by generic drug manufacturers to review an antitrust multidistrict litigation court’s order that they produce documents even if the defendants think the documents are irrelevant or nonresponsive (Actavis Holdco US, Inc., et al. v. Connecticut, et al., No. 19-1010, U.S. Sup.).
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June 12, 2020
All States Sue 26 Generic Drug Makers, 10 Execs For Fixing Prices Of 80 Drugs
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Fifty states and the District of Columbia on June 10 filed an antitrust complaint against 26 generic drug companies and 10 executives alleging that the defendants conspired to inflate generic drug prices, reduce competition and restrain trade for topical drugs (Connecticut, et al. v. Sandoz, Inc., et al., No. 20-802, D. Conn.).
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June 12, 2020
Cooperating Opioid Employee Gets No Jail Time For Insurance Wire Fraud
BOSTON — A former reimbursement manager for opioid maker Insys Therapeutics Inc. was sentenced on June 10 to time served, three years of supervised release and no fine and ordered to share in paying $59.75 million in restitution with other company criminal defendants for her role in operating a phony insurance approval operation for the company (United States v. Elizabeth P. Gurrieri, No. 17-cr-10083, D. Mass.).
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June 11, 2020
Judge Won’t Reduce $1.17M Restitution Order In Opioid Case For ‘Phantom Income’
BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge on June 8 denied a motion by former Insys Therapeutics Inc.’s top opioid salesperson to reduce her $1.17 million forfeiture penalty due to “phantom income” for stock purchases that were included on her tax returns (United States v. Sunrise Lee, No. 16-10343, D. Mass.).
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June 08, 2020
Massachusetts Appeals Court Reverses Ruling For Doctor In Tainted Drug Death Suit
BOSTON — A Massachusetts Appeals Court panel on June 1 reversed a lower court’s ruling for a physician accused of injecting a contaminated medication into a woman’s knee, which caused an infection that led to her death. At issue is whether he failed to follow the standard of care by not first inspecting the medication vial for defects. The appeals court also upheld the dismissal of claims against the medication manufacturer (Donald J. LaPorte, et al. v. Steven C. Vlad, et al., No. 19-P-375, Mass. App., 2020 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 468).
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June 08, 2020
Protective Order, Sanctions Motions Denied In Diabetes Drug Consolidated Suit
LEXINGTON, Ky. — In a May 26 order, a Kentucky federal magistrate judge denied a motion for a supplemental protective order by Bristol-Myers Squib Co. (BMS) and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP (AZ) in a multidistrict litigation over two diabetes drugs, finding an existing order sufficient to address confidentiality concerns over the submission of clinical trial data (In re: Onglyza and Kombliglyze XR Products Liability Litigation, No. 5:18-md-02809, E.D. Ky., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91005).
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June 05, 2020
Illinois High Court: State Lacks Jurisdiction Over Nonresident Essure Claims
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on specific personal jurisdiction, the Illinois Supreme Court on June 5 said state courts may not exercise such jurisdiction over the claims of 179 nonresidents who claim to have been injured by the Essure birth control device (Christy Rios, et al. v. Bayer Corporation, et al., No. 125020, Nichole Hamby, et al. v. Bayer Corporation, et al., No. 125021, Ill. Sup., 2020 Ill. LEXIS 538).
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June 04, 2020
Opioid MDL Judge Bifurcates Counties’ Bellwether Trial Against Pharmacy Defendants
CLEVELAND — The Ohio federal judge overseeing the opioid multidistrict litigation on June 2 granted a motion by two Ohio counties to bifurcate and try their common-law public nuisance claims against six pharmacy chains (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2804, No. 17-md-2804, N.D. Ohio, Eastern Div., 2020 U.S Dist. LEXIS 96242).
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June 02, 2020
Texas Announces Plan To Allocate $850M In Potential Settlement Funds
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas attorney general on May 20 announced a “coordinated bipartisan” agreement with county leaders on how the state should distribute $850 million in potential opioid settlement money to cities, counties and health care regions.
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June 02, 2020
Opioid Claims Against Purdue Pharma Must Be Filed By June 30 Bar Date
NEW YORK — A bankruptcy service firm on May 1 issued a reminder that June 30 is the bar date for filing claims in the bankruptcy of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma L.P. and its subsidiaries.
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June 02, 2020
Judge Won’t Dismiss Some Of Minnesota’s Insulin Pricing Claims, Cut Others
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on May 11 released a redacted opinion denying dismissal of claims of consumer fraud and unjust enrichment brought by the Minnesota attorney general and dismissing without prejudice racketeering, restitution and false advertising claims against three insulin makers for their price increases (Minnesota, et al. v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, et al., No. 18-cv-14999, D. N.J., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82957).
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June 02, 2020
Taxotere MDL Judge Says 2015 Hair Loss Warning Ends Nearly 200 Cases
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana federal judge overseeing the Taxotere hair loss multidistrict litigation on May 27 granted a defense motion to dismiss failure-to-warn claims in nearly 200 cases in which the plaintiffs started the breast cancer therapy drug after warnings about permanent hair loss were added to the drug label on Dec. 11, 2015 (In Re: Taxotere [Docetaxel] Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2740, No. 16-2740, E.D. La., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91994).
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June 02, 2020
FDA Ask 5 Drug Makers To Recall Certain Metformin Pills Due To NDMA Contamination
SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on May 28 alerted patients and health care professionals that laboratory tests revealed unacceptably high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in extended release versions of the diabetes drug metformin and asked five drug companies to voluntarily withdraw the drugs from the market.
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June 02, 2020
Mass Tort Cases For Drugs, Medical Devices
New developments in the following mass tort drug and device cases are marked in boldface type.
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June 02, 2020
Plaintiffs Seek MDL For 42 Profemur Hip Cases To Be Transferred To Arkansas
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four plaintiffs on May 18 moved the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPMDL) to centralize 42 federal lawsuits alleging that the Profemur hip prosthesis is defective and subject to fretting and corrosion that causes injury to recipients of the device (In Re: Profemur Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2949, JPMDL).