Sandoz and Momenta to pay $120m to end antitrust suit
Sandoz and Momenta have agreed to pay $120 million to bring an antitrust class action over blockbuster blood clot drug enoxaparin to an end.
Nashville General Hospital, a nonprofit hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, and DC 37, a health plan for public-sector union members in New York, filed a motion to direct notice, seeking preliminary approval of the settlement, at the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Enoxaparin was originally developed by Sanofi and sold under the brand name Lovenox.
The settlement will compensate hospitals, insurers, companies that pay for their employees’ healthcare costs, and uninsured people in Tennessee and 29 other jurisdictions who allegedly overpaid for Lovenox or generic enoxaparin.
Nashville General Hospital and DC 37 sued Momenta and Sandoz, alleging that the two pharmaceutical companies had monopolised the sale of enoxaparin by not disclosing a patent-protected testing protocol and then using the patent to prevent a generic competitor from entering the market.
“By blocking a lower-priced competitor, the defendants could price their own generic product just under the price of Lovenox, the branded version of the drug, reaping hundreds of millions in profits,” said a press release from law firm Lieff Cabraser, which represented the plaintiffs.
The settlement was reached with the assistance of a mediator shortly before trial, which was set to begin on January 7, 2020.
According to the suit, Momenta had pushed for the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) to adopt a specific test as a requirement for enoxaparin manufacturers looking to meet Food and Drug Administration standards.
However, Momenta didn’t disclose that it was “prosecuting a patent that would cover this very test, and potentially enable it to monopolise and control the market for generic enoxaparin if the USP chose this standard over others,” the complaint said.
Earlier in December, Momenta announced in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it had agreed to pay $35 million to settle the suit.
Nashville mayor John Cooper said: “As our safety net hospital, Nashville General Hospital serves an important role in our community. We are proud of the leadership Nashville General Hospital has shown in fighting against inflated drug prices.”
Lieff Cabraser partner Mark Chalos, managing partner of Lieff Cabraser’s Nashville office, added: “The courageous efforts of the class representatives, Nashville General Hospital and DC 37, will help improve access to health care for patients in Tennessee and across the country.”
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