Judge Finds No Surgery Required to Sustain the Plausibility of the Overarching Conspiracy Alleged in the Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation

On August 15, 2019, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania overseeing the Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) denied in full generic drug manufacturer defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ overarching conspiracy claims, concluding that the “connective tissue” allegations plausibly establish the existence of an industry-wide conspiracy to “fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and engage in market and customer allocations” of numerous generic drugs.

The case has been described as “most likely the largest cartel” case ever brought and is being actively litigated by both several different plaintiff groups, including classes of purchasers forced by the conspiracy to overpay for generic drugs, as well as the Attorney Generals for more than 40 States.  The United States Department of Justice, which has been criminally investigating the same conduct, has also intervened in the MDL.  In connection with the DOJ’s related criminal investigation, defendant Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. admitted in May 2019 to its felonious role in the conspiracy.  In 2017, Heritage’s former CEO Jeffrey Glazer and former President Jason Malek each entered related guilty pleas.

Now with defendants’ motion to dismiss the overarching conspiracy claim denied, the MDL may proceed more expeditiously through discovery.