WASHINGTON (Reuters)—A federal appeals court on Monday brought to an end President Barack Obama’s bid to overturn a ruling that threatens to gut his signature healthcare law by putting the case on hold until after President-Elect Donald Trump, who aims to repeal Obamacare, takes office. The Obama administration had appealed a judge’s May ruling favoring…
Verdict: Johnson & Johnson to Pay More Than $1 Billion for Defective Hip Implants
(Reuters)—A federal jury in Dallas on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay more than $1 billion to six plaintiffs who said they were injured by Pinnacle hip implants. The jurors found that the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants were defectively designed and that the companies failed to warn consumers…
Big Pharma vs. Big Pharma in Court Battles over Biosimilar Drugs
ZURICH (Reuters)—The line dividing makers of brand-name drugs and copycat medicines is blurring as companies known for innovative treatments queue up to peddle copies of rivals’ complex biological medicines. These drug makers are now increasingly straddling both sides of the courtroom, too, protecting their high-price products from biosimilars—biopharmaceutical drugs with the treatment properties of medicines…
Cephalon, U.S. States Reach $125 Million Settlement Over Generic Drugs
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—Cephalon has reached a $125 million settlement with 48 states in connection with its alleged efforts to delay generic versions of its blockbuster sleep disorder drug modafinil (Provigil) from entering the market, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Thursday. The settlement with Cephalon, now owned by Teva Pharmaceuticals, comes a little more…
Health Insurer Anthem Sues Express Scripts over Drug Pricing
(Reuters)—Health insurer Anthem Inc. said it had sued pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. to recover damages from drug pricing it believes was too high. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest development in a month’s long dispute over Anthem’s contract with…
Johnson & Johnson Hit with $500 Million Verdict in Trial over Hip Implants
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy unit were ordered by a Texas federal jury on Thursday to pay a total of about $500 million to five plaintiffs who said they were injured by Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implants. Following a two-month trial, jurors found that the Pinnacle hips were defectively designed, and that the…
Pfizer Unit to Pay $784.6 Million in Medicaid Rebate Settlement
(Reuters)—Pfizer Inc. said its Wyeth unit has agreed to pay $784.6 million to settle cases related to the calculation of Medicaid rebates for a gastric drug between 2001 and 2006. The claims alleged that Wyeth’s calculation of rebates for its proton pump inhibitor Protonix (pantoprazole) violated the Federal Civil False Claims Act and other laws…
Adventist Health System to Pay $118 Million to Settle Fraud Claims
(Reuters)—Florida-based healthcare system Adventist Health System has agreed to pay $118.7 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that accused it of paying kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals, attorneys for the plaintiffs announced on Monday. The agreement comes in a lawsuit filed by three former employees of Adventist’s Park Ridge Health hospital in Hendersonville,…
Pacira Sues FDA over Pain Drug Marketing Restrictions
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Pacira Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking a court order allowing it to promote its post-surgery pain drug, Exparel (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension), for a wide range of surgeries, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration opposes. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, cites another New York judge’s recent…
Backlog Slows Medicare Appeals Process for Hospitals, Physicians
Recovery Audit Program brings in record number of appeals, clogs system