US: J&J can’t arbitrate Remicade antitrust case argues Rochester

A drug wholesaler is urging a federal appeals court to not send a lawsuit accusing Johnson & Johnson (J&J) of seeking to suppress competition for its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade to arbitration.

Remicade has been on the market since receiving FDA approval in 1998. From 1998 to 2016, J&J had what the suit calls a monopoly on the market, as it was the only product that contained the active ingredient infliximab.

Rochester Drug Cooperative told the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in a brief on Thursday, March 7, that a federal judge in Philadelphia correctly determined its antitrust claims did not fall within the scope of an arbitration agreement it had signed with J&J.