Labaton Sucharow Files Antitrust Class Action Arising from Pay-for-Delay Scheme to Exclude Bystolic Generic Competition

NEW YORK — Labaton Sucharow LLP announces that on July 27, 2020, it filed a complaint, UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund v. Abbvie, Inc. et al, No. 1:20-cv-05837 (S.D.N.Y.) (the “Action”), on behalf of Plaintiff UFCW Local 1500 Welfare Fund against Defendants AbbVie, Inc. (“AbbVie”); Allergan, Inc., Allergan Sales, LLC, and Allergan USA, Inc. (collectively, “Allergan”); and Forest Laboratories, Inc., Forest Laboratories Holdings, Ltd., Forest Laboratories, LLC, and Forest Laboratories Ireland Ltd. (collectively, “Forest”) arising from an unlawful scheme to exclude generic competition for Bystolic®.

Bystolic (Nebivolol HCl tablet) is a drug used to treat high blood pressure. Bystolic is manufactured and sold by Forest and its successors, for whom it generates approximately $1 billion in sales annually.
In December 2011, as the end of Forest’s exclusivity over Bystolic neared, several generic drug manufacturers sought FDA approval to market generic versions of Bystolic. In response, Forest filed a series of patent infringement lawsuits against the generic drug manufacturers. The filing of these lawsuits triggered the operation of a stay on the FDA’s ability to approve of any generic version of Bystolic until June 18, 2015.

Rather than risk facing competition as early as June 2015, Forest engineered a series of unlawful “pay-for-delay” agreements with each of its would-be generic competitors. Under these agreements, Forest made significant cash payments to the generic drug manufacturers in order to preserve its monopoly through September 2021.
The Action asserts claims under the Sherman Act, as well as state antitrust and consumer protection laws, on behalf of persons or entities that purchased or reimbursed for purchases of Nebivolol HCl, beginning at least as early as June 2, 2015, (the “Class”). The Action seeks to restrain Defendants’ anticompetitive conduct and to recover damages for those who have overpaid, and will continue to overpay, for Nebivolol HCl. If you purchased or reimbursed for purchases of Nebivolol HCl, you may be a member of the Class.

If you have any questions about this lawsuit, you may contact Labaton Sucharow partner Gregory Asciolla at (800) 321-0476, or via email at gasciolla@labaton.com.

Labaton Sucharow represents businesses, investors, and consumers in challenges to anticompetitive conduct taking place in the United States and abroad. Labaton Sucharow has been recognized for its excellence by the courts and peers, and it is consistently ranked in leading industry publications. Our offices are located in New York, NY, Wilmington, DE, and Washington, D.C. More information about Labaton Sucharow is available at www.labaton.com.

You can view a copy of the complaint here.