January 26, 2026
Biogen Inc. must face health plans’ claims that it bribed pharmacy benefit managers to stifle generics competition for its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera, after an Illinois federal judge found Wednesday that the plans’ latest amended complaint in their consolidated antitrust litigation corrects her prior concerns with the pleadings.
In a 25-page order, U.S. District Judge April Perry denied Biogen’s motion to dismiss, finding that the new allegations corrected prior pleading deficiencies and addressed all of her concerns in her prior dismissal order.
She said the new complaint “fleshed out” the business relationship between plans and their pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, by alleging that health plans cannot practically detect or police PBM misconduct with respect to tiering manipulation. That’s because they claim they lack pharmaceutical expertise and that PBMs retain the ability to make unilateral changes to certain pricing documents after they’re engaged, among other limitations on health plans, the order says.
“The result of all this, plaintiffs allege, is that health plans cannot avoid the generic-excluding impacts of formulary manipulations,” the order says. “While this characterization of plan-PBM dynamics is stark and no doubt susceptible to factual dispute, the court does not find it implausible based upon the allegations in the second amended complaint.”
The ruling keeps alive consolidated antitrust litigation initially filed in August 2024 by health plans, which pay a portion of the cost of prescription drugs purchased by their members, alleging claims under the Sherman Act and its state law analogs and the Robinson-Patman Act.
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The health plans are represented by Sperling Kenny Nachwalter LLC, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison PLC, Hilliard & Shadowen LLP, Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Dicello Levitt.
Read Biogen Can’t Escape Amended Antitrust Suit Over MS Drug.