Neurontin Third-Party Payor Class Action Settlement

A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. and Warner-Lambert Company LLC regarding the marketing of the prescription drug Neurontin. The class action settlement provides cash awards to Third-Party Payors (TPP) of Neurontin, including all insurance companies, health benefit providers, and entities that provide prescription drug benefits and/or pharmacy benefits (i.e., consumers are not included).

If you are a TPP and purchased, paid for, administered and/or reimbursed for branded or generic gabapentin sold by Pfizer and its subsidiaries, you could be eligible for benefits from the Neurontin class action settlement.

The Neurontin class action lawsuit alleged the defendants violated the law by promoting Neurontin for various uses that were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and for various conditions for which it was ineffective. According to the class action lawsuit, Neurontin was approved by the FDA as an adjunctive therapy for adult epilepsy and for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. However, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants marketed the drug for several off-label uses by making false or misleading statements to physicians and in medical publications. The Neurontin class action lawsuit also alleged that Class Members paid inflated prices for the drug.

The defendants have denied the allegations but agreed to settle the Neurontin class action lawsuit to avoid further expense, inconvenience and the burden of litigation.

Who’s Eligible

Eligible Class Members of the Neurontin class action settlement include third party payors in the United States who purchased, paid for, administered, and/or reimbursed for Neurontin sold by Pfizer and Warner-Lambert or gabapentin sold by Greenstone LLC.

Third party payors are all insurance companies, healthcare benefit providers, health maintenance organizations, union health and welfare plans, self-funded health and welfare plans, and any other health benefit provider and/or entity that contracts with a health insurance company or other entity to serve as a third party claims administrator to administer their prescription drug benefits.

Subclass A includes Assurant Health Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc., Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Company d/b/a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota; CareFirst Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware Inc., Excellus Health Plan Inc., Federated Mutual Insurance Company, Group Health Service of Oklahoma d/b/a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Health Care Service Corporation, Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, Trustmark Insurance Company, WellChoice Inc. and WellChoice Insurance of New Jersey Inc.

Potential Award

The $325 million Neurontin class action settlement fund will be distributed proportionally among Class Members based on the size of their claims according to the plan of distribution.

The payment that members of Subclass A will receive will be calculated by multiplying their actual amount of Neurontin purchases by 1.8. For example, if a member of Subclass A files a claim for $10,000 of Neurontin purchases, that number would be multiplied by 1.8 and $18,000 will be used to calculate the pro rata portion of the class action settlement proceeds.

Proof of Purchase

Class Members are required to provide the amount of branded Neurontin they purchased from Jan. 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. This “proxy period” will be used to determine the payments made to each Class Member.

Class Members submitting claims for purchases during the proxy period of more than $300,000 must provide documentation with their Claim Form.

Claim Form

Claim Form Deadline

10/15/2014

NOTE: The online filing form is for Third Party Payor Class Members only and should only be completed on behalf of a company or health plan, not individual consumers.

Case Name

In re: Neurontin Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1629, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Final Hearing

10/22/2014

Settlement Website

www.NeurontinSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Neurontin Settlement Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 1906
Faribault, MN 55021-7161
1-855-793-1372

Class Counsel

Thomas M. Sobol
HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP

Thomas M. Greene
GREENE LLP

Don Barrett
BARRETT LAW OFFICE

Elizabeth J. Cabraser
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN LLP

James R. Dugan II
THE DUGAN LAW FIRM LLC

Daniel Becnel Jr.
LAW OFFICES OF DANIEL BECNEL JR.

W. Scott Simmer
BLANK ROME LLP

Defense Counsel

David Weinraub
QUINN EMANUEL URQUHARDT & SULLIVAN LLP