Case Briefing

Merck Loses Infringement Suit Against Spanish Manufacturer

Bentley Pharmaceuticals Inc., a European company, announced April 19 that it had prevailed in the lawsuit brought against its Spanish subsidiary by Merck & Co. Inc. The suit charged infringement by Laboratorios Belmac, S.A. of several of Merck's process patents for simvastatin, a statin for modifying cholesterol, which it markets under the brand name Zocor. The civil trial court in Madrid found that the source of the active ingredient used by Belmac did not infringe Merck's patents and that Belmac's product was in compliance with Spanish law.

Texas Jury Awards $1 Billion In Fen-Phen Case

In a case tried in the District Court of Jefferson County, TX, a jury awarded $1 billion to the estate of Cynthia Cappel-Coffey, a 41-year-old housewife who died of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) 4 years after she stopped taking the diet drug Pondimin. This is the first verdict against Wyeth for a death caused by lung damage brought on by use of Pondimin.

Wyeth has announced plans to appeal the verdict, on the basis of Texas' statutory caps on punitive damages and also because the trial judge did not allow defendants to present evidence that the deceased used four other diet drugs after she discontinued use of Pondimin. Some of these other drugs carried warnings about the possibility of developing PPH. Wyeth also took issue with an alleged lack of scientific evidence to show that PPH can develop 4 years after discontinuing the drug's use.

Court Certifies Class in Antitrust Suit Against Abbott, Geneva and Zenith Goldline

The court certified a multi-state class of end payers for the drug terazosin hydrochloride in this antitrust action, finding that at least one named plaintiff from each of the states included (but not from the District of Columbia) suffered the same alleged injury from the same alleged tortious actions as the class members. In Re: Terazosin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 99-MDL-1317-SEITZ/KLEIN, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6176 (S.D. Fla. 4/8/04).

Since 1987, defendant Abbott Laboratories has been exclusively manufacturing and marketing the chemical compound terazosin hydrochloride under the brand name Hytrin', a drug used for the treatment of hypertension and enlarged prostate. Both Geneva Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Zenith Goldline Pharmaceuticals Inc. are drug manufacturers that developed generic versions of Hytrin for sale in the United States. The indirect purchaser plaintiffs asserted that two 1998 agreements — one between Abbott and Geneva and another between Abbott and Zenith — violated the laws of the various states and resulted in delayed domestic competition for the sale of terazosin hydrochloride. They also alleged that Abbott unlawfully extended its monopoly power over the market for terazosin hydrochloride by misusing its Hytrin patents, ignoring certain regulations issued by the FDA, and engaging in baseless patent litigation against Geneva and Zenith.

Zyprexa Suits Consolidated

Over defendant's objections, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has chosen the Eastern District of New York to hear six suits against Eli Lilly concerning alleged injuries caused by the company's anti-psychotic drug, Zyprexa'. In Re Zyprexa Prods. Liability Litigation, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6651 (Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, 4/14/04).

The six actions consolidated were originally brought in California, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Eli Lilly moved pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ' 1407 to consolidate the cases and have them heard in the Southern District of Indiana or, in the alternative, the Northern District of Ohio. At oral argument, Lilly also suggested transfer to the Southern District of New York or the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The panel found that these six actions involved common questions of fact, that centralization was necessary in order to eliminate duplicative discovery and prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, and that centralization in the Eastern District of New York would best serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses.

Merck Loses Infringement Suit Against Spanish Manufacturer

Bentley Pharmaceuticals Inc., a European company, announced April 19 that it had prevailed in the lawsuit brought against its Spanish subsidiary by Merck & Co. Inc. The suit charged infringement by Laboratorios Belmac, S.A. of several of Merck's process patents for simvastatin, a statin for modifying cholesterol, which it markets under the brand name Zocor. The civil trial court in Madrid found that the source of the active ingredient used by Belmac did not infringe Merck's patents and that Belmac's product was in compliance with Spanish law.

Texas Jury Awards $1 Billion In Fen-Phen Case

In a case tried in the District Court of Jefferson County, TX, a jury awarded $1 billion to the estate of Cynthia Cappel-Coffey, a 41-year-old housewife who died of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) 4 years after she stopped taking the diet drug Pondimin. This is the first verdict against Wyeth for a death caused by lung damage brought on by use of Pondimin.

Wyeth has announced plans to appeal the verdict, on the basis of Texas' statutory caps on punitive damages and also because the trial judge did not allow defendants to present evidence that the deceased used four other diet drugs after she discontinued use of Pondimin. Some of these other drugs carried warnings about the possibility of developing PPH. Wyeth also took issue with an alleged lack of scientific evidence to show that PPH can develop 4 years after discontinuing the drug's use.

Court Certifies Class in Antitrust Suit Against Abbott, Geneva and Zenith Goldline

The court certified a multi-state class of end payers for the drug terazosin hydrochloride in this antitrust action, finding that at least one named plaintiff from each of the states included (but not from the District of Columbia) suffered the same alleged injury from the same alleged tortious actions as the class members. In Re: Terazosin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 99-MDL-1317-SEITZ/KLEIN, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6176 (S.D. Fla. 4/8/04).

Since 1987, defendant Abbott Laboratories has been exclusively manufacturing and marketing the chemical compound terazosin hydrochloride under the brand name Hytrin', a drug used for the treatment of hypertension and enlarged prostate. Both Geneva Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Zenith Goldline Pharmaceuticals Inc. are drug manufacturers that developed generic versions of Hytrin for sale in the United States. The indirect purchaser plaintiffs asserted that two 1998 agreements — one between Abbott and Geneva and another between Abbott and Zenith — violated the laws of the various states and resulted in delayed domestic competition for the sale of terazosin hydrochloride. They also alleged that Abbott unlawfully extended its monopoly power over the market for terazosin hydrochloride by misusing its Hytrin patents, ignoring certain regulations issued by the FDA, and engaging in baseless patent litigation against Geneva and Zenith.