Overview
Cohen Milstein represented Baltimore and other end payors in a large antitrust MDL against Pfizer for its role in an anticompetitive scheme to delay competition from less-expensive generic versions of the blockbuster cholesterol drug, Lipitor.
Plaintiffs alleged that the scheme caused purchasers to be deprived of a less-expensive generic version of Lipitor and thus resulted in overcharges of close to a billion dollars. The scheme allegedly included defrauding the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, filing a baseless FDA petition, and conspiring with the first generic ANDA filer, Ranbaxy, not to enter the market until 2011.
Cohen Milstein was Co-Lead Counsel of a proposed class of End-Payor Plaintiffs.
In July 2017, Law360 recognized In re: Lipitor Antitrust Litigation, as one of the biggest competition cases of the year to watch.
Other Key Rulings
- On October 1, 2024, the Honorable Peter G. Sheridan of the United States District Court for District of New Jersey granted the End-Payor Plaintiffs final approval of a $35 million settlement against Pfizer for its role in an anticompetitive scheme to delay competition from less-expensive generic versions of the blockbuster cholesterol drug, Lipitor.
- On July 16, 2020, the Honorable Douglas E. Arpert for the United States District Court, District of New Jersey ordered that all plaintiff cases be consolidated as In Re Lipitor Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:12-cv-02389 (D.N.J.)
- On August 21, 2018, the proposed End-Payor Class defeated, in large part, Defendants’ motion to dismiss certain state law claims.
- On August 21, 2017, the Third Circuit handed a sweeping victory to buyers by reviving their antitrust claims that had been dismissed by the district court. The appellate panel found the lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation plausibly alleged various ploys to artificially inflate the costs of Lipitor to make it past the dismissal stage.
- On April 3, 2017, Sharon K. Robertson, of Cohen Milstein, was appointed – by name – as Co-Lead Counsel (ECF No. 647).
- On July 31, 2012, Cohen Milstein was appointed Co-Lead Counsel of the End-Payor Plaintiff class.
Case Background
The case alleged that Pfizer and its predecessors and affiliates engaged in an overarching anticompetitive scheme to delay competition from less-expensive generic versions of the blockbuster drug, Lipitor. The complaint alleged that the scheme included defrauding the United States Patent and Trademark Office, filing a baseless FDA petition, and conspiring with the first generic ANDA filer, Ranbaxy, not to enter the market until 2011. Plaintiffs alleged that the scheme caused purchasers to be deprived of a less-expensive generic version of Lipitor and thus resulted in overcharges of close to a billion dollars. Violations of various state laws were also alleged against both the Pfizer entities and Ranbaxy.
Name of original case: Burlington Drug Co., Inc., et al. v. Pfizer, et al., Case No. 3:12-cv-02389 (D.N.J.)