Miller Law LLC and Safirstein Metcalf LLP Announce Notice of Certified Litigation Class Action in In re Namenda Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation

CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

NOTICE OF CERTIFIED LITIGATION CLASS ACTION

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE NOTICE CAREFULLY. A UNITED STATES FEDERAL COURT AUTHORIZED THIS NOTICE. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THE PROCEEDINGS IN THIS ACTION. THIS NOTICE ADVISES YOU OF YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THIS ACTION.

This class certification Notice provides class members with a deadline of May 28, 2021, to exclude themselves from the Third-Party Payor ("TPP") Class.

At this time, there is no claim form, plan of distribution, or Class Counsel fees or expenses to be addressed.

If you purchased branded Namenda IR, and/or branded Namenda XR,
or generic Namenda IR, indirectly, a class action lawsuit may affect your rights.

This Notice is being provided by Order of the U.S. District Court.
It is not a solicitation from a lawyer. You are not being sued.

In re Namenda Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-06549-CM-RWL (S.D.N.Y.)

A class action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ("the Court") involving Namenda XR, Namenda IR, and its generic equivalents. The lawsuit alleges that Defendants Actavis, plc and its wholly owned subsidiary Forest Laboratories, LLC (jointly, "Actavis"); and Merz GmbH & Co. KgaA, Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH, and Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KgaA (collectively, "Merz") (collectively, "Brand Defendants") harmed competition and violated state antitrust, consumer protection, and unjust enrichment laws in the United States. Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (jointly, "Teva"); Cobalt Laboratories, Inc.; Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and/or Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc. (jointly, "Dr. Reddy's"); Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc.; Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC; Sun India Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd.; and Wockhardt Limited and Wockhardt USA LLC (jointly, "Wockhardt") (collectively, "Settling Generic Manufacturer Defendants") have settled with the Plaintiff, Sergeants Benevolent Association Health & Welfare Fund. The Court preliminarily approved settlements with those Settling Generic Manufacturer Defendants but your rights in connection with them will be provided in a later notice. Plaintiff claims that Defendants harmed competition and violated state antitrust and consumer protection and deceptive trade practices laws and engaged in inequitable conduct in certain U.S. states by unlawfully delaying and impeding the market entry of less-expensive generic versions of Namenda IR. Specifically, the Indirect Purchaser Class Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants entered into unlawful non-competition agreements, or horizontal market allocation agreements, with prospective generic competitors, whereby Defendants agreed to pay the generic competitors in exchange for the generic competitors agreeing to delay selling its generic version of Namenda IR. The lawsuit also includes allegations directed toward a so-called "hard switch product hop" to compel purchasers to switch to Defendants' extended-release version of Namenda (Namenda XR), before less expensive generic versions of Namenda IR became available; however, the Court did not certify the "hard switch" claim for class action treatment, so the Indirect Purchaser Plaintiff is pursuing that claim only for itself, not on behalf of any other indirect purchaser of Namenda. Indirect Purchaser Class Plaintiff alleges that it and other members of the Class were injured by being overcharged because of Defendants' conduct and overpaid on their purchases of Namenda IR, Namenda XR, and generic Namenda IR in the states (defined below). Defendants deny any wrongdoing. No one is claiming that Namenda is unsafe or ineffective.

On February 11, 2021, the Court determined that this case may proceed as a class action with respect to Third-Party Payors ("TPPs").

The Court has not decided whether the Defendants did anything wrong. There is no monetary recovery available now, and no guarantee there will be. However, your legal rights are affected, and you have a choice to make now.  

WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE CLASS?

Generally, you are included in the TPP Class if you are a third-party payor that purchased, paid, and/or provided reimbursement for some or all of the purchase price of Namenda IR, its generic equivalent, and/or Namenda XR, other than for resale in Alabama, Arizona, California, D.C., Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island (for purchases after July 15, 2013), South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, for consumption by themselves, or their members, employees, insureds, participants, or beneficiaries, from June 1, 2012 through December 31, 2017.

You are NOT a member of the TPP Class if you are: (a) Defendants and Defendants' parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates; (b) fully-insured health care plans (i.e., health plans that purchased insurance from another third-party payor covering 100% of the insureds' prescription drug benefits on behalf of the Plan's members and beneficiaries); (c) all federal or state governmental entities, excluding cities, towns, or municipalities with self-funded prescription drug plans; (d) Pharmacy Benefit Managers ("PBMs"); and (e) all judges presiding in this case, their chambers staff, and any members of their immediate families, and all counsel of record.

YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS

DO NOTHING: By doing nothing, you keep the possibility of getting money or benefits that may come from a trial or a settlement. But you give up any rights to sue the Defendants separately about the same legal claims in this lawsuit.

ASK TO BE EXCLUDED: If you are a TPP Class member, you have the right to exclude yourself (to opt out) from the TPP Class no later than May 28, 2021. If you ask to be excluded and money or benefits are later awarded in this class action lawsuit, you will not share in those. But you would keep any rights to sue the Defendants separately about the claims in this lawsuit. Details on how to request exclusion are at www.InReNamendaIndirectAntitrustLitigation.com.

These dates may be amended by Court Order. Please check the website noted below for updated information.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit www.InReNamendaIndirectAntitrustLitigation.com or call 1-877-266-8807.

Source
Miller Law LLC and Safirstein Metcalf LLP

SOURCE Miller Law LLC and Safirstein Metcalf LLP