Gilead Sciences, Inc. faces antitrust lawsuits brought by purchasers of drugs commonly used to treat HIV.  In these cases, the plaintiffs allege that Gilead unlawfully acquired a monopoly in the combined antiretroviral therapy (“cART”) drug market through a multi-faceted scheme to suppress generic competition for its branded cART drugs. In the alleged scheme, Gilead (1) entered into a series of bilateral agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Janssen to suppress generic competition to the three companies’ drugs, (2) intentionally degraded its own products, (3) intentionally withheld products from the market, and (4) entered into a series of patent settlement agreements that kept generic competition from the market.

The cases are before Judge Edward M. Chen in the Northern District of California.  The Court previously entered an Order on August 13, 2020 stating that the court-ordered mediation should commence no later than January 15, 2021.  The Court entered an Order on December 17, 2020 extending all deadlines in the case schedule by six months.  On January 15, 2021, Judge Chen accepted the parties’ joint stipulation requesting a delay in the date for the parties to commence mediation.  The mediation deadline for the parties in litigation over Gilead’s cART regimen for treating HIV has been extended to June 22, 2021.

Pharmaceutical Antitrust Lawyers

Companies that paid all or part of the purchase price for cART drugs, including on behalf of their insureds, should evaluate the size of their purchases and consider filing suit in time to participate in the now-delayed mediation.

Schneider Wallace has successfully represented nationwide insurance companies and other sophisticated institutional plaintiffs in recovering for overcharges due to branded and generic drug and medical device price manipulation. Schedule an appointment with our legal team to learn more about filing an antitrust lawsuit. Schneider Wallace has offices in California, Texas, North Carolina and Puerto Rico and litigates in jurisdictions throughout the country in state and federal administrative agencies and courts.

Staley v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., No. 19-cv-2573 (N.D. Cal.)