On August 10, 2012, the Honorable Peter G. Sheridan, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, appointed Kenneth A. Wexler as interim co-lead counsel for the end-payor putative class in In re Lipitor Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2332, an antitrust and consumer fraud class action filed against Pfizer, Inc. and Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., among others.
Wexler Wallace, with co-counsel, filed the case on March 27, 2012 on behalf of a class of end purchasers alleging that defendants committed a number of antitrust and consumer fraud violations starting with the fraudulent procurement of the patent covering the blockbuster brand name drug, Lipitor.
According to the complaint, Pfizer and Ranbaxy also entered into sham litigation and anticompetitive settlement in an effort to protect the Lipitor monopoly and allocate the post-generic entry market. As a result of these actions, generic Lipitor competition was delayed for a number of years, forcing the proposed class of end purchasers to pay more for Lipitor and its generics than they should have but for defendants’ conduct.
For a copy of the order appointing interim co-lead counsel, click here. For more about the case, click here.