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Shire Asks Court to Toss Adderall Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit
By Mike Holter
Biopharmaceutical company Shire LLC urged a California federal court last week to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing the company of attempting retain “complete control over the supply” of Adderall, saying the plaintiff has no proof that Shire stifled competition to block generic Adderall from entering the market.
Shire has been hit with multiple class action lawsuits alleging it filed sham patent lawsuits and entered into anti-competitive settlements and supply agreements with generic drug makers in an attempt to cut off the supply of cheaper-priced generic Adderall to consumers.
On May 31, 2013, Shire motioned to dismiss one of those Adderall antitrust class action lawsuits (Shaffer v. Shire LLC) based on several arguments, including that Shaffer has no standing to challenge the alleged sham litigation and reverse-payment settlements because she did not purchase Adderall AXR until after the alleged anticompetitive conduct occurred in 2009.
Shire also argued, among other things, that Shire filed her class action lawsuit past the statute of limitations for claims brought under the Cartwright Act and Unfair Competition Law.
Shire has already managed to get one antitrust class action lawsuit thrown out on March 6. In that case (Louisiana Wholesale Drug Co. Inc. v. Shire LLC), U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said the plaintiffs still had access to lower drug prices than they would have if the alleged anticompetitive patent licenses had never been reached. Louisiana Wholesale said it is planning to appeal the ruling.
At least one other class action lawsuit (Barba et al v. Shire US, Inc.) remains.
Shaffer is seeking to represent a proposed class of all California consumers who took Adderall and were harmed by having to pay more for the drug than they would have normally if Shire hadn’t stifled generic competition.
The case is Shaffer v. Shire LLC et al., Case No. 13-cv-02363, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Shire is represented by Jeffrey R. Witham and John P. Flynn of McLeod Moscarino Witham & Flynn LLP, as well as by Michael F. Brockmeyer and John F. Collins of Frommer Lawrence & Haug LLP.
UPDATE: A Judge dismissed the Adderall class action lawsuit after plaintiff attorneys missed the deadline to amend the complaint.
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
