BOSTON, Feb. 13, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Two drug companies have agreed to pay $80 million to settle claims of conspiring to prevent a generic version of a popular blood pressure medication from reaching the market, the law firm of Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo announced today.
The agreement settles claims brought on behalf of consumers and most indirect purchasers, including health insurers, who allegedly were forced to pay artificially high prices for the drug Cardizem CD.
Berman DeValerio, co-lead counsel for plaintiffs, filed the case in 1998 on behalf of Aetna U.S. Healthcare and others who were injured by the conduct. State attorneys general, who in 2000 brought a companion case on behalf of consumers in their states, also negotiated the settlement.
Drug manufacturers Aventis Pharmaceuticals and the Andrx Corp. have agreed to pay $80 million in a groundbreaking settlement that, for the first time, will give consumers direct compensation in a generic drug case. The average consumer will be able to recover 20% of the money spent on the drug during a 14-month period in 1998 and 1999 -- several hundred dollars for some individuals.
"This was a classic example of a powerful drug company using money and muscle to keep profits high at the expense of consumers, who were forced to pay inflated prices for a drug they needed," said Joseph J. Tabacco, Jr., a partner at Berman DeValerio. "When pharmaceutical companies violate antitrust laws, everyone pays -- from individuals to governments to health insurance companies."
According to the complaint, Hoechst, a drug company acquired by Aventis in 2000, paid Andrx $100 million beginning in 1998 not to market a generic version of Cardizem CD. That meant consumers had to buy the more expensive brand-name drug for at least an extra year.
The two drug companies did not admit guilt and denied any wrongdoing.
Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo prosecutes class actions nationwide on behalf of institutions and individuals, chiefly victims of securities fraud, antitrust law violations, and consumer fraud. The firm consists of 33 attorneys in Boston, San Francisco, and West Palm Beach, Florida.