By Jonathan Stempel
June 24 (Reuters) – Pfizer has been dismissed as a defendant in a sweeping antitrust lawsuit in which most U.S. states accused dozens of drugmakers and executives of fixing prices of generic drugs, causing patients to overpay.
In a decision on Tuesday, Chief Judge Michael Shea of the federal district court in Connecticut said the states failed to show that Pfizer and its former Greenstone unit conspired with rivals between 2010 and 2014 to rig bids and allocate customers for six drug products.
These included generic versions of Eplerenone tablets for high blood pressure, Latanoprost drops for glaucoma, and four versions of Clindamycin phosphate for acne.
The states alleged that Greenstone executives exchanged more than 360 phone calls and text messages with Swiss generic drugmaker Sandoz to coordinate anticompetitive activity.
The judge said no reasonable jury could find that New York-based Pfizer directly conspired to fix prices, knew of collusion by Greenstone when asked to approve price changes, or was liable because Greenstone — the authorized generic manufacturer of Pfizer-branded drugs — acted as its agent.
“Greenstone existed for the purpose of selling generic drugs for profit in addition to the strategic value that it provided to its parent company,” Shea wrote. “The states’ contention that it existed for the sole purpose of acting on its parent company’s behalf falls short.”
LAWSUIT COVERS 80 GENERIC DRUGS
The dismissal came in a lawsuit brought by 45 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories, accusing 36 defendants of conspiring to fix prices of 80 generic drugs, primarily for skin ailments.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has led the litigation, and New York Attorney General Letitia James filed papers opposing Pfizer’s dismissal motion.
Tong said his office is reviewing the decision and will continue to aggressively pursue its claims against the other defendants. “Americans pay too much for their prescription drugs, and that won’t change until we restore fair and honest competition across the generic drug industry,” he said in a statement.
James’ office declined to comment.
Pfizer spun off Greenstone in a 2020 transaction that created Viatris.
In a statement, Pfizer said it was pleased with the dismissal. It also said Greenstone was a “reliable and trusted supplier of affordable generic medicines for decades, and we will continue to vigorously defend against these claims.”
Shea oversees two other antitrust lawsuits by state attorneys general related to generic drugs. Pfizer is a defendant in one of those cases.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Louise Heavens and Bill Berkrot)
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