Viatris Makes $264M Deal With Consumers to Settle EpiPen Price-Gouging Claims

Viatris/Mylan EpiPen Price Gouging Settlement Overview:

• Who: Health care company Viatris—formerly Mylan—has inked a $264 million settlement deal with EpiPen consumers.
• Why: The deal ends some claims that the company conspired with Pfizer Inc. to delay the entry of generic competitors to the EpiPen market.
• Where: Kansas federal court

A health care company accused of conspiring with Pfizer, Inc. to delay competition in the EpiPen market, to the detriment of consumers, has inked a $264 million settlement over the claims. 

On Feb. 28, Viatris — formerly known as Mylan — said it had agreed to the settlement, although it still denies allegations that it price-gouged consumers. 

“The company maintains that it acted lawfully and pro-competitively and the settlement contains no admission of liability,” Viatris said in the lawsuit. 

“The board of directors believes that this settlement is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders.

The settlement will benefit Class members nationwide who purchased EpiPens — epinephrine auto-injectors — indirectly from Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

If approved in Kansas federal court, indirect EpiPen consumers may be able to get some money returned through the settlement.

Due to Market Price Fixing, Consumers Paid Higher Prices for EpiPen

According to the class action lawsuit, consumers paid higher prices because Mylan had conspired with EpiPen’s manufacturer Pfizer, Inc. to block cheaper, generic versions of the product that is used to treat anaphylaxis. 

Anaphylaxis is a severe life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur rapidly after exposure to an allergen. Epinephrine is very effective at treating anaphylaxis, but it must be administered immediately. A delay in receiving epinephrine of as little as 30 minutes can result in death. 

The EpiPen is the most prevalent epinephrine injection device with nearly 4 million prescriptions written last year alone. Pfizer reached a $345 million settlement with consumers in July.

The consumer claims are part of broader multidistrict litigation that kicked off after the price of an EpiPen climbed to $600 in 2016 from the $100 it had been less than a decade earlier.

In a November, 2021 class action lawsuit, Plaintiff Landon Ipson—a consumer— alleged that Viatris devised an illegal scheme to monopolize the market for epinephrine auto-injector devices, causing millions of Americans relying on the life-saving device to pay exorbitant prices for EpiPens. Unlawfully exercising its monopoly power, Mylan, hiked the list price for two EpiPens to $608 in 2016, up from $100 in 2007 and an increase of over 600%, the plaintiff claims.

He says the price increase was not attributable to market conditions, increases in manufacturing costs or shortages in the supply of epinephrine, but rather the result of a multi-faceted, fraudulent scheme to obtain and maintain a monopoly in the market for epinephrine autoinjectors at the expense of American consumers and third-party payers.

What do you think of this settlement and the allegations against Viatris? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Paul J. Geller, Stuart A. Davidson, Bradley M. Beall, Brian O. O’Mara, Arthur L. Shingler III and Lea Malani Bays of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Lynn Lincoln Sarko and Gretchen Freeman Cappio of Keller Rohrback LLP, Elizabeth C. Pritzker and Jonathan K. Levine of Pritzker Levine LLP, Matt Tripolitsiotis and Duane L. Loft of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, W. Mark Lanier, Rachel Lanier and Cristina Delise of The Lanier Law Firm, Warren T. Burns and Spencer Cox of Burns Charest LLP and Rex A. Sharp, Ryan C. Hudson and Ruth Anne French-Hodson of Sharp Law LLP.

The Mylan EpiPen Settlement is In Re: EpiPen (Epinephrine Injection, USP) Marketing, Sales Practices and Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 2:17-md-02785, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas

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