Likely ending the Pennsylvania state government's bid to reinstate nearly $80 million in damages against two pharmaceutical giants, the state Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court's holding that, while the companies “willfully violated” consumer protection laws, the state is not entitled to damages.

In a one-sentence per curiam order issued Dec. 21 in Commonwealth v. TAP Pharmaceutical Products, the justices affirmed the Commonwealth Court's decision from January, which found that, although the drug companies “willfully used unlawful practices under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law,” Pennsylvania did not prove that it suffered any harm that would allow the state to recover damages, or impose civil penalties.

The Commonwealth Court ruling, issued Jan. 27 by Judge Robert Simpson, additionally denied the state's request for a ­permanent injunction.