Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Enbrel Shipping Temperature

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Two drug providers, an Amgen Inc. subsidiary called Caremark and CVS Health unit, were accused of failing to provide proper procedures to keep Enbrel, a drug used to treat arthritis, at the correct temperature during shipping.

Lead plaintiff Edward Bertram filed the Enbrel class action lawsuit in California state court last week. He alleges that the companies failed to enact procedures that would ensure Enbrel was kept within the proper temperature range during shipping. He further alleges that the companies failed to disclose to consumers that Enbrel must be kept between 36 and 46 degrees to avoid damage.

According to the Enbrel class action lawsuit, if Enbrel freezes during transit, it ruins the drug, and if the drug is exposed to higher temperatures, it cannot be refrigerated again and has to be thrown out within 14 days. The plaintiff claims in his Enbrel class action lawsuit that in failing to keep the drug within the proper temperature range and failing to disclose this to consumers, Amgen unit Immunex Corp. and pharmacy benefit manager Caremark PCS Health LLC violated California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act. The plaintiff contends that he and other Enbrel users would have bought the drug from other sources, paid less for the drug or selected a different medication if the companies had disclosed that the Enbrel they provided may have been frozen or overheated in transit.

According to the Enbrel class action lawsuit, the plaintiff has only received a single shipment of Enbrel that was kept at the proper temperature from the defendant mail-order pharmacy Caremark since the company took over his health insurance. The plaintiff alleges in his class action lawsuit that after changing insurance companies, he was required to receive his prescription for Enbrel by mail. The plaintiff further alleges that the he used a laser thermometer to measure the temperature of the drug, which was packed with ice packs differently for each shipment.

“Even when Caremark ships Enbrel to [the plaintiff] in the same container, there is no pattern to the number, temperature or configuration of the frozen gel packs used,” the Enbrel class action lawsuit says. “As such it appears that Caremark employees have no — or at least do not follow any — standard procedures regarding the preparation and shipment.”

According to the Enbrel class action lawsuit, the plaintiff received a frozen shipment of Enbrel once and received multiple shipments of Enbrel that arrived above room temperature. The plaintiff also alleges that when he received frozen or room temperature Enbrel he then had to pay out-of-pocket to buy substitute Enbrel at a local pharmacy. According to the plaintiff, Enbrel costs him almost $2,500 a month and an additional copay of $850 every 28 days.

Bertram is represented by Christopher P. Ridout, Devon M. Lyon and Caleb Marker of Ridout Lyon & Ottoson LLP.

The Enbrel Shipping Temperature Class Action Lawsuit is Bertram v. Immunex Corp., et al., Case No. BC560903, in the Superior Court of California.