Mylan Wins Summary Judgment Rulings In Kansas EpiPen Auto-Injector Class Action

(RTTNews) - Viatris (VTRS) said Wednesday that the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled, in substantial part, in Mylan's favor on the company's summary judgment motion in the class action related to EpiPen Auto-Injector.

Viatris welcomed the court's decision to dismiss all of the plaintiffs' claims under the federal RICO statute, which include claims asserted against Mylan's former CEO Heather Bresch.

The court also dismissed claims alleging that Mylan foreclosed branded competition through rebate arrangements with pharmacy benefit managers.

The only remaining claim in this class action pertains to a patent settlement between Pfizer and Teva and other alleged actions regarding the launch of Teva's generic epinephrine auto-injector.

According to Viatris, Wednesday's ruling was not a decision on the merits of that claim and did not resolve the claim in plaintiffs' favor.

The court's decision does, however, vindicate the company's continued perseverance in defending itself against a series of claims over the past few years relating to EpiPen that have proven to be baseless, and provide the company with the opportunity to further defend itself vigorously in a trial currently scheduled to begin September 7, 2021.

Viatris firmly believes that Mylan's conduct was lawful and pro-competitive, and that plaintiffs will have great difficulty proving damages resulting from Mylan's actions.

The Wednesday's ruling follows a December 2020 decision by the same court granting summary judgment in Mylan's favor in a separate lawsuit brought by Sanofi related to EpiPen in which the court also rejected all of Sanofi's claims that Mylan engaged in anticompetitive practices to market EpiPen.

Pfizer completed a transaction in November 2020 to spin off its Upjohn Business and combine it with Mylan. The combined company was renamed Viatris in connection with the closing.