Drug Pricing Lawsuit Wins Class-Action Status
A federal judge on Wednesday granted class-action status to a lawsuit alleging that several drug makers inflated the figures used by the government to calculate the costs of drugs administered by doctors, Bloomberg/Asbury Park Press reports. Plaintiffs comprise people who paid any of the drugs' costs that were based on the average wholesale price formula used to set reimbursements for federal health programs.
U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris approved for class-action status their case alleging that Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline charged too much for the drugs. Plaintiff attorneys say the companies might have to repay hundreds of millions of dollars if they are found to have overcharged for the drugs.
Saris certified the class-action status for doctor-administered drugs, such as chemotherapy, after denying that status in August 2005 to a broader suit covering prescription drugs. Saris also rejected a motion to include drugs made by Schering-Plough, saying the plaintiffs had not substantiated their case against that company.
Saris is considering similar suits pending against other drug makers, including Pfizer and Abbott Laboratories (Bloomberg/Asbury Park Press, 2/2).