In a significant win for big pharmaceutical firms, a federal judge has refused to certify a consumer and indirect purchaser antitrust class action against GlaxoSmithKline on the grounds that the plaintiffs cannot prove each class member was affected by the alleged scheme to maintain higher prices.
The plaintiffs allege that GSK set out to delay the market date for a generic version of Wellbutrin SR, the sustained-release form of its popular antidepressant, by using “sham” patent litigation to tie up the generic manufacturers in court and proceedings before the patent board.
