Johnson & Johnson affiliates will pay $25 million to end antitrust litigation over their alleged scheme to delay generic versions of the anti-inflammatory Remicade, a biologic drug used to treat autoimmune disorders, according to a federal court filing in Philadelphia.
The settlement, disclosed April 15, would resolve class action claims on behalf of pension funds and other indirect Remicade purchasers that accused J&J and its Janssen unit of using exclusionary contracts and product bundling to prevent certain insurers from covering Remicade “biosimilars,” as generic versions of biologic drugs are known.
With annual U.S. sales of about $5 billion and its wide use to also treat Crohn’s disease and psoriasis, Remicade is J&J’s biggest product. Biosimilar drugs are close copies intended to provide savings compared with costly branded products. Inflectra is already available in Europe.
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