Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, STATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES NEWS: Adderall Indirect Purchaser Files Class Action Complaint in Pennsylvania, (Apr 4, 2013)

By William Zale, J.D.

An indirect purchaser of the attention deficit disorder medication Adderall XR (AXR) has brought a class action complaint against Shire, LLC and Shire U.S., the drug’s manufacturer and marketer, for anticompetitive, fraudulent, and deceptive conduct in violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (PUTCPL). The complaint in Netwall v. Shire U.S., Inc. was filed in the federal district court in Philadelphia on April 1, 2013.

The named plaintiff seeks to represent a nationwide class of persons, as well a subclass of Pennsylvania residents, who purchased AXR for personal use and not for resale from April 1, 2009 to the present.

The plaintiff alleges that the defendants engaged in fraudulent and deceptive conduct in violation of the PUTCPL by filing sham patent litigation against generic drug makers in order to extend the time during which the defendants maintained a monopoly. The plaintiff also asserts that the defendants engaged in other fraudulent and deceptive conduct including entering into supply arrangements with the intention of breaching those arrangements and intentionally breaching those arrangements. The goal of the defendant was to prevent, delay, or minimize the success of the entry of generic AXR competitors who would have sold generic versions of the drug at prices significantly below the defendants’ prices, according to the complaint.

The plaintiff requests damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, and award of attorney fees.

The case is No. 2:13-cv-01669-EL.

Attorneys: Richard M. Golomb (Golomb & Honik, PC) for Allyson Netwall.

Companies: Shire, LLC and Shire U.S.

News: Antitrust StateUnfairTradePractices