Direct Purchasers of Lamictal Certified as a Class in Pay-for-Delay Case

On December 12, 2018, Judge William H. Walls of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey certified a class of direct purchasers of GlaxoSmithKline’s blockbuster epilepsy and bipolar disorder drug Lamictal.

In the pay-for-delay case In re Lamictal Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, plaintiffs challenge a settlement agreement between GlaxoSmithKline and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., in which Teva agreed to delay its launch of generic Lamictal tablets in exchange for a license to sell limited quantities of Lamictal chewables starting in June 2005 (before GSK’s patent was set to expire), along with GSK’s promise that it would not market authorized generic versions of Lamictal tablets and chewables during Teva’s 180-day exclusivity windows.

In its order, the Court certified a class of direct purchasers of Lamictal tablets or Teva’s generic version of lamotrigine tablets between February 17, 2008 and January 22, 2009.  The Court rejected the drugmakers’ arguments as to why Rule 23(b)’s predominance requirement should not be met, stating that these arguments do not “create serious certification issues.”  The drugmakers’ push against plaintiffs’ expert’s use of averages was shot down as well, as Judge Walls said that “averages are appropriate in the damages calculation.”  The Court found that plaintiffs had sufficiency met the remaining requirements under Rule 23 and granted plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.