Judge certifies lawsuit against McKesson

Article

A federal judge certified a class-action lawsuit that accuses North America's largest pharmaceutical distributor of inflating wholesale drug prices.

A federal judge certified a class-action lawsuit that accuses North America's largest pharmaceutical distributor of inflating wholesale drug prices. Filed in Boston last fall by a Seattle-based law firm, the lawsuit claims McKesson entered into a secret agreement to artificially inflate the reported average wholesale prices of thousands of drugs. According to the suit, McKesson entered into a secret pact with First Databank in 2001 on criteria to be used to determine wholesale prices of brand-name drugs. In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris wrote, "As a result of this artificial increase, thousands of TPP [third-party payers], public entities, and consumers have had their drug prices increased." The lawsuit contends McKesson violated federal racketeering and various California consumer laws - breaches that carry hefty fines upon conviction. A McKesson spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit certification decision, saying the company does not discuss pending litigation.

Click here to see more articles from Drug Topics Daily News.

To go to the Drug Topics homepage, click here.

Recent Videos
Related Content
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.