Lawsuit accusing Sanofi, Eli Lilly of scheming to inflate drugs' prices pared down
New Delhi: A federal judge on Friday pared down a class action lawsuit brought by consumers accusing three of the biggest makers of diabetes drugs, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi SA and Eli Lilly & Co, of scheming to inflate the drugs' prices.
U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti in Newark, New Jersey, ruled that claims under the racketeering laws of several states (except for Arizona's) must be dismissed because the laws do not allow claims by plaintiffs who bought the drugs through intermediaries, such as insurance companies, rather than from the drugmakers directly.
The decision does not affect claims in the case brought under various state consumer protection laws.
The 2017 lawsuit involves the insulin analog drugs NovoLog and Levemir by Novo Nordisk, Sanofi's Lantus and Humalog by Lilly.
The 80 named plaintiffs in the case, patients who paid out-of-pocket costs for the drugs through their insurance, claim the three companies raised their public benchmark price for insulin products while effectively charging lower prices to large pharmacy benefit managers by paying them rebates and administrative fees in exchange for favorable placement on PBMs' drug formularies.
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