Action 9: Drug company close to paying $35 million settlement
Some people might be entitled to a portion of a $35 million settlement. It is part of one of the biggest drug company settlements in U.S. history.
The Federal Trade Commission and multiple state attorneys general said the companies that made the popular sleep-disorder drug PROVIGIL — Cephalon Inc. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries — illegally blocked competition. The government said the drug makers paid competitors more than $300 million not to make generics for six years.
The FTC went after the drug makers in 2008, and both sides settled in 2015. The drug companies didn’t admit wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $1.2 billion, including that $35 million for patients – patients like Mike Daisley.
Daisley found out when he was 25 he had multiple sclerosis. He’s 61 now and a lawyer, which can be physically draining, especially with MS, so he uses PROVIGIL.
“It helped me stay alert; helped me stay on top of my game,” he said.
But he said he would have taken a generic if he could have, and now Daisley wants in on that payout.
“I’m not anti-pharma. I’m not anti-drug manufacturer. I’ve benefited from that drug,” he told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. “But they ought to be fair about the business practices that they do, Jason. They ought not to engage in unfair competitive behavior.”
There are a lot of rules about who is eligible for a payout. Customers had to buy PROVIGIL between June 24, 2006, and March 31, 2012. Customers must file a claim by June 25.
CLICK HERE for details on filing a claim.
Filed under: General Problems
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