AstraZeneca Reaches Nexium Class Action Settlement

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UPDATE: Details on how to file a claim for the Nexium Class Action Lawsuit Settlement have arrived!

AstraZeneca agreed on Friday to settle a long-running class action lawsuit accusing the pharmaceutical giant of deceptively marketing the heartburn medication Nexium. The AstraZeneca Nexium settlement was reached just days before the class action lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial yesterday in Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts.

Plaintiffs in the AstraZeneca Nexium class action lawsuit argued that the company marketed Nexium as superior to its other heartburn drug, Prilosec, and it’s generic version, omeprazole, in order to get consumers to purchase the more expensive Nexium. AstraZeneca allegedly did this to convert the market to Nexium before Prilosec lost patent protection and became available in the cheaper generic or over-the-counter form. The class action lawsuit further claimed that AstraZeneca’s deceptive marketing misled doctors to prescribe Nexium under the mistaken belief that it was superior to Prilosec.

A federal court certified the AstraZeneca Nexium class action lawsuit in August 2011 on behalf of consumers who purchased Nexium in Massachusetts since March 2001.

Terms of the Nexium class action settlement have not been announced, but Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit were seeking restitution for the amounts they allegedly overpaid to buy Nexium instead of Prilosec.

It’s important to note that Plaintiffs were not arguing that Nexium was unsafe in any way, and that AstraZeneca denies the allegations. The Company said physicians used their own judgments to prescribe Nexium, and that some patients saved money by purchasing Nexium instead of Prilosec.

Keep checking Top Class Actions for details on how to receive money from the AstraZeneca Nexium Class Action Lawsuit Settlement once the Settlement Administrator updates the site: www.MassachusettsNexiumLitigation.com.

The case is Commonwealth Care Alliance v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals L.P., Case No. 05-0269, Suffolk County Superior Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

UPDATE: The Settlement Administrator, Garden City Group, has posted an update that distribution of settlement checks began in late 2013 and is ongoing. Class Members who submitted a valid claim will likely see their checks soon.