Actavis Reaches $1.1M Settlement With Parents, Caregivers in ADHD Pills Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit

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Drug manufacturer Actavis has signed a $1.1 million settlement with parents and caregivers of children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), settling allegations the company delayed releasing its generic ADHD medication.

The parents and caregivers asked a Massachusetts federal judge to give preliminary approval to the settlement this week.

The deal comes after the parents and caregivers filed a class action lawsuit against Actavis and other drug company Shire, alleging that the companies cut an anticompetitive deal whereby Actavis delayed the release of its generic version of Shire’s Intuniv ADHD medication.

They say that Shire paid off Actavis to delay the launch of its less expensive medication, and agreed not to launch its own generic version during Actavis’ 180-day exclusivity period. The agreement was an unlawful reverse payment, the class action lawsuit states, and it forced consumers to pay inflated prices for Shire’s Intuniv medication.

The class action lawsuit cited the fact that Actavis got permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to launch its generic version in October 2012, but it didn’t come to market until December 2014.

Shire is not part of the settlement agreement, which would give payments to the parents and caregivers in proportion to the amount of brand name or generic Intuniv pills that they bought from November 2012 to the present.

Class counsel said that it intends to request up to one-third of the settlement fund for attorney’s fees — around $363,000, Law360 reports.

The motion said that the settlement would streamline the parents’ and caregivers’ case with Shire, and guarantees they would at least receive a partial recovery “while preserving their claim to additional recovery against Shire.”

“At the same time, the proposed settlement avoids the uncertainties and delays of continued litigation against Actavis and appeals that would follow.”

Golomb & Honik PC Attorney Ruben Honik, a lawyer representing the parents and caregivers, told Law360 that his clients hoped that the proposed settlement would become part of a global resolution “that addresses the entirety of class wide damages resulting from the collective conduct of these defendants in delaying generic entry of this important drug.”

In April, a similar case moved forward when a U.S. District Court judge certified a class action claiming drugmakers conspired to delay the release of generic versions of Namenda, a drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, to the market.

The class action lawsuit, filed by the Sergeants Benevolent Association Health & Welfare Fund, alleges the defendants entered into reverse-payment settlements with manufacturers of generic versions of Namenda to delay the generics’ release into the market and that the defendants’ conduct harmed competition.

Have you ever been forced to pay a higher price for medication while waiting on the release of a generic version? Let us know in the comments section!

The parents and caregivers are represented by Kanner & Whiteley LLC, Golomb & Honik PC and Galebach Law Office.

Shire is represented by Haug Partners LLP. Actavis is represented by Goodwin Procter LLP.

The Actavis and Shire ADHD Medication Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Intuniv antitrust litigation, Case No. 1:16-cv-12396, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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