Pfizer $345M Settlement With EpiPen Buyers Gets Final Approval Following Antitrust Class Action

Pfizer $345M EpiPen Antitrust Class Action Settlement Overview:

• Who: EpiPen manufacturer Pfizer has finalized a $345 million settlement with EpiPen consumers.
• Why: The settlement ends claims the company used anti-competitive practices along with retailer Mylan, which amounted to racketeering and state antitrust violations.
• Where: The settlement benefits consumers nationwide.

A federal judge has given final approval to a $345 million class action settlement made between EpiPen manufacturer Pfizer and EpiPen consumers.

US District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree gave his final sign-off in an order filed Nov. 17 in a Kansas federal court.

The class action settlement ends allegations that Pfizer used anti-competitive practices along with retailer Mylan, in its sales of the EpiPen, which plaintiffs said amounted to racketeering and state antitrust violations. 

Of the $345 million, one-third—or $115 million—will go to class counsel from various firms, and $9.6 million will go to expenses.

“The court finds that the risk of huge expenditures on a contingent basis, with no parallel government proceeding and a substantial risk of no recovery, favors the requested one-third fee award,” the order says.

The remainder of the funds will go to individual consumers (80 percent) and third-party payors (20 percent). 

Pfizer Hiked EpiPen Prices, Alleged Now-Settled Class Action

The Pfizer EpiPen settlement follows a 2017 class action lawsuit where consumers accused both companies of conspiracy after the price of an EpiPen climbed from $100 to $600 in less than a decade.

The consumers claimed that Pfizer and Mylan plotted to maintain EpiPen’s monopoly by issuing large rebates to insurers and Medicaid plans that refused to cover competing medications. 

The two companies were also accused of making reverse-payment patent settlements and using other methods to stop the emergence of generic competitors.

As part of the EpiPen settlement, Pfizer would continue to deny any liability for the claims.

What do you think about Pfizer’s settlement with EpiPen users? Let us know in the comments section!

The plaintiffs are represented by Keller Rohrback LLP; Sharp Law LLP; Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP; Pritzker Levine LLP; Burns Charest LLP; The Lanier Law Firm; and Boies Schiller Flexner LLP.

The EpiPen Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is In re: EpiPen Marketing, Sales Practices and Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 2:17-md02785, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

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