Labaton Sucharow Appointed Lead Counsel in Bystolic Pay-for-Delay Suit

On October 13, 2020, Judge Lewis Liman (SDNY) appointed Labaton Sucharow Partner Robin van der Meulen as co-lead counsel of the end-payor class in the pay-for-delay case involving the drug Bystolic®.

On July 27, 2020, Labaton Sucharow filed a complaint on behalf of Plaintiff UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund against Defendants AbbVie, Allergan, and Forest arising from an unlawful scheme to exclude generic competition for the blood pressure medication Bystolic—manufactured by Forest and its successors.

The suit alleges that after first filing a series of patent infringement lawsuits against drug manufacturers to slow FDA approval of generic versions of Bystolic, Forest engineered a series of unlawful “pay-for-delay” agreements with each of its would-be generic competitors in order to preserve its monopoly through September 2021.

In appointing co-lead counsel, the court emphasized the importance of diversity in its selection and recognized that “both firms demonstrate a commitment to diversity through their ranks.”

Judge Liman further noted, “That a firm is able to field a diverse team provides some indication—albeit crude and imperfect—that the firm is one that is able to attract, train, and retain lawyers with the most latent talent and commitment regardless or race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation.“

The case, City of Providence, Rhode Island, et al., v. Abbvie Inc., et. al., consolidates multiple suits brought on behalf of end-payor purchasers of Bystolic. Labaton Sucharow represents Plaintiff UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund. Sharon Robertson of Cohen Milstein serves as co-lead counsel.