Oct 6, 2010
Federal Judge Denies Certification to Wellbutrin Class
In a significant win for big pharmaceutical firms, a federal judge has refused to certify a consumer and indirect purchaser antitrust class action against GlaxoSmithKline on the grounds that the plaintiffs cannot prove each class member was affected by the alleged scheme to maintain higher prices. The plaintiffs allege that GSK set out to delay the market date for a generic version of Wellbutrin SR by using “sham” patent litigation to tie up generic manufacturers in court and patent board proceedings.