Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—J.P.M.L.: Suits over delayed generic competition for acne treatment move to Boston, (Feb 26, 2014)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

A dozen actions brought on behalf of direct purchasers and end-payors of Solodyn—a brand name prescription acne treatment—alleging that the drug’s maker conspired with generic drug manufacturers to delay generic competition for Solodyn have been centralized in the federal district court in Boston for pretrial proceedings by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML). Nine of the actions that were pending elsewhere were transferred to the federal district court in Boston and assigned to Judge Denise J. Casper for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings with the three actions already pending there (In re Solodyn (Minocycline Hydrochloride) Antitrust Litigation, February 25, 2014, Heyburn, J.).

The defendants in the actions, which allege anticompetitive conduct in the market for minocycline hydrochloride, moved for centralization of the litigation in the federal district in Arizona or, alternatively, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. There was disagreement among the plaintiffs regarding the appropriate transferee district. They generally supported consolidation in the districts in which their suits were filed: the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District of Massachusetts, or the District of Arizona.

The JPML noted that any number of districts could serve as the transferee district because the litigation involved the alleged anticompetitive conduct of several pharmaceutical manufacturers concerning a prescription drug that had been widely marketed throughout the nation. However, it concluded that, on balance, the District of Massachusetts was the appropriate transferee district. The district offered a forum that was both convenient and accessible for the parties and witnesses, particularly for the numerous defendants that were based on the East Coast, the JPML explained.

The complaints allege monopoly violations by Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation—the producer of minocycline hydrochloride extended-release tablets marketed under the brand name Solodyn—as well as conspiracies between Medicis and generic drug makers to restrain trade. The generic defendants include Impax Laboratories, Inc.; Lupin Ltd. and Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Mylan Inc. and Matrix Laboratories Ltd.; Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ranbaxy Inc., and Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ltd.; Sandoz Inc.; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and Barr Laboratories, Inc.

The plaintiffs seek to recover for overcharges caused by the alleged anticompetitive activity. They allege that Medicis filed sham patent litigation and baseless citizen petitions with the Food and Drug Administration, entered into reverse payment agreements in which Medicis allegedly agreed to pay the generic drug companies substantial sums in exchange for delaying entry of their less expensive generic versions of Solodyn into the market, and enacted a “product-hopping” scheme in which Medicis unnecessarily introduced varying dosages of Solodyn in an effort to deplete demand for approved generic dosages.

The case is MDL No. 2503.

Attorneys: Derek Brandt (Simmons Browder Glanaris Angelides & Barnerd) and Michael John Rusing (Rusing Lopez & Lizardi PLLC) for the City of Providence. Daniel J. Boland (Pepper & Hamilton LLP) for Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. Leiv Blad (Bingham McCutchen LLP) for Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. Jennifer Rie (Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP) for Sandoz Inc. Katherine L. Childers (Alston & Bird LLP) for Mylan Inc. Christopher T. Holding (Goodwin Procter LLP) for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Thomas M. Sobol (Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP) for Ahold USA, Inc. David F. Sorensen (Berger & Montague) for Rochester Drug Co-Operative, Inc.

Companies: Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp.; Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Lupin Ltd.; Sandoz Inc.; Mylan Inc.; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.; Ahold USA, Inc.; Barr Laboratories, Inc.

Cases: Antitrust