Mylan has dodged claims that it unlawfully shielded its EpiPen from competition by driving Sanofi’s epinephrine auto-injector from the market through exclusive agreements with insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, according to Bloomberg Law.
Judge Daniel D. Crabtree granted summary judgment for Mylan, finding that it didn’t violate antitrust laws by offering rebates to insurers and PBMs that excluded Sanofi’s Auvi-Q from their drug formularies. Exclusive distribution deals are legal as long as they don’t involve threats or coercion, he said.
Sanofi wanted Mylan to pay up to US$11.7 billion in damages for engaging in a scheme to squelch competition to its EpiPen allergy treatment. In particular, Sanofi said Mylan offered rebates to insurers, pharmaceutical benefit managers, and state Medicaid agencies conditioned on Auvi-Q not being an epinephrine auto-injector device they would reimburse for use by consumers.
