Plaintiffs v AstraZeneca
Appeals Court Denies AstraZeneca in AWP Case
The First Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling of the trial court in a Massachusetts case against AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - News) that concluded the drug giant engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices by inflating the price of prescription drug Zoladex, clearing the way for a national class-action lawsuit to move forward.
The 98-page ruling affirms a judgment of $12.9 million against the company for violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.
The ruling also clears the way for a national class-action lawsuit originally certified by U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris on Sept. 29, 2008, which was temporarily stayed until the resolution of AstraZeneca's appeal.
The case was originally filed Sept. 2, 2002 and claimed AstraZeneca grossly inflated the price of Zoladex, primarily used to treat prostate cancer, by misstating the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) of these drugs in industry publications. The published AWP sets the price that consumers, insurance companies and other third-party payors pay for the drug, and the lawsuit contends that consumers and third-party payors often paid more than market value because of the drug company's deceptive AWP reporting.
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and lead attorney said he is looking forward to extending the state ruling and using it to represent consumers and other third-party payors in the national class.
The ruling the court upheld affects patients and insurers who made co-payments and reimbursements for Zoladex from December 1997 to 2003.
The Court also rejected the defense that third-party payors knew of the spreads and thus were not deceived.
Berman indicated the class plaintiffs will seek a trial of the nationwide case next year.
CONTACT:
Steve Berman (206) 623-7292 Mark Firmani (206) 443-9357
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro Firmani + Associates
Steve@hbsslaw.com Mark@firmani.com
