According to FiercePharma, Viatris, the drugmaker announced that it’s scored a win against serious charges in an antitrust case that’s been running for several years. Viatris Gets A Win In Long-Running EpiPen Antitrust Suit .
Viatris, the newly-formed company that combined Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn unit late last year, stated it’s “pleased” with the Kansas District Court’s decision to rule in favor of the company’s summary judgment motion in the case, according to a Wednesday, June 23, statement. Most of the charges in the case have been dismissed, but one will head to trial.
The case dates back to 2017 when the plaintiffs, over hundreds of pages, charged Mylan with a number of anticompetitive strategies to build and maintain its EpiPen empire. In one case, the plaintiffs—an employee health plan plus consumers—stated Mylan pulled a “hard switch” by only offering the EpiPens in packs of two, forcing buyers to have to pay more with no medical rationale.
Mylan also paid excessive rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, commercial payers, and state Medicaid programs as long as they didn’t reimburse competing products, plaintiffs claimed. They further cited the well-known and dramatic price hikes Mylan implemented over the years. Viatris Gets A Win In Long-Running EpiPen Antitrust Suit
The judge’s latest ruling dismissed all claims related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, including charges against the company’s former CEO Heather Bresch, Viatris stated. The court also dismissed the charge that Mylan prevented competition through rebate arrangements with PBMs.
However, one claim related to patent settlements between Pfizer, which manufactured EpiPen, and Israeli drugmaker Teva remains outstanding and will go to trial, a Viatris spokesperson said. In the case, the plaintiffs claimed the companies abused “sham” patent litigation to forestall Teva’s generic version from entering the market.
Despite that, the company stated the latest decision “vindicates” its efforts to defend itself “against a series of claims over the past few years relating to EpiPen that have proven to be baseless.”
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