CVS, Rite Aid Accuse AstraZeneca of Conspiracy to Box Out Generic Competitors for Seroquel
The lawsuit, alleging violations of the Sherman Act, seeks overcharge damages, which could be trebled after trial.
October 29, 2019 at 05:53 PM
3 minute read
Photo: Shutterstock
CVS Pharmacy Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. accused AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday of conspiring with three generic drugmakers to delay competition for its blockbuster antipsychotic Seroquel XR.
The antitrust lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, targeted patent-infringement settlements AstraZeneca had reached with Handa Pharmaceuticals and Accord Healthcare Inc., which had separately sought regulatory approval to bring generic versions of Seroquel to market.
Under those agreements, AstraZeneca agreed to make large "reverse payments" in exchange for promises from Handa and Accord that they would drop their patent fights and agree not to compete with AstraZeneca for up to five years, the complaint said. The lawsuit also names Par Pharmaceutical Inc., a subsidiary of Irish drugmaker Endo International, which acquired Handa's right to apply for generic approval in 2012.
Both agreements, the complaint claimed, created "windfalls" for the defendants and extended AstraZeneca's "market and monopoly power" by postponing competition from cheaper, generic versions of the drug, which generates more than $1 billion in annual sales and is used to treat depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
"Absent the unlawful non-compete agreements, plaintiffs would have been able to satisfy their requirements for extended-release quetiapine fumarate at significantly lower prices substantially earlier," lawyers for CVS and Rite Aid said in the 69-page filing.
The lawsuit, alleging violations of the Sherman Act, seeks overcharge damages, which could be trebled after trial.
AstraZeneca's press shop did not immediately respond to a call Tuesday afternoon seeking comment on the lawsuit.
In addition to the reverse payments, AstraZeneca agreed not to launch its own authorized Seroquel generic during the first 180 days after Handa and Accord finally brought their products to market. According to the suit, that arrangement further solidified Seroquel's dominance and amounted to cash payments of $164 million and $76 million to Handa and Accord, respectively, during their exclusivity periods.
"AstraZeneca intended these payments to induce Handa/Par and Accord to delay entry into the market for Seroquel XR and its generic equivalents in return for a share of AstraZeneca's monopoly profits," the filing said. "This was a per se illegal naked market allocation or output restriction agreement."
CVS and Rite Aid are represented by Alexander Egerváry, Monica Kiley, Eric Bloom, Barry Refsin, Chelsea Nichols and Caitlin McHugh of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller in Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
The case, captioned CVS Pharmacy v. AstraZeneca, has not yet been assigned to a judge.
Read More:
Former AstraZeneca Sales Rep Files Lawsuit Charging Drugmaker With Pregnancy Discrimination
New Securities Class Action Targets CVS Over Omnicare Merger
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Major Drug Companies Agree to Pay $49.1 Million to 50 States, Territories
3 minute read
Lawsuit Alleging $23 Million Contract Breach Against Biogen Moves Forward
Bristol-Myers Squibb Wins Dismissal of $6.4 Billion Lawsuit Alleging Intentional Delay of Cancer Drug
Trending Stories
- 1BOI Reports: What Business Owners and Attorneys Should Know
- 2SurePoint Acquires Legal Practice Management Company ZenCase
- 3Day Pitney Announces Partner Elevations
- 4The New Rules of AI: Part 2—Designing and Implementing Governance Programs
- 5Plaintiffs Attorneys Awarded $113K on $1 Judgment in Noise Ordinance Dispute
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
