Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., filed a complaint against Amgen Inc. last week, alleging the defendant violated a variety of business laws, including the Sherman Antitrust Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, and New York’s General Business Law.
The complaint alleges that the defendant has attempted to rid the plaintiff’s life-saving cholesterol medicine from the market. The complaint cites that the plaintiff’s medicine is the defendant’s only competitor.
According to the complaint: first, the defendant tried to sue the plaintiff for patent infringement after filing many overbroad patents; second, the defendant then employed its sales force to spread disinformation about the plaintiff’s medicine. The defendant’s patent infringement suit was rejected by the court because the patents filed were for compounds within the plaintiff’s medicine that the defendant never invented, per the plaintiff.
The complaint alleges that the defendant is involved in the unlawful business practice of forcing key intermediaries to cease business with the plaintiff by incentivizing them with substantial rebates on other medication these intermediaries cannot avoid purchasing.
The complaint concludes that the defendant’s actions have caused the plaintiff’s sale of their cholesterol medicine to become economically unviable, has harmed fair free market competition, and violates federal and state antitrust laws.
The plaintiff seeks the following for relief: a declaration the defendant violated several sections of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Act, and California’s and New York’s business laws. The plaintiff also seeks injunctive relief, the enjoinment of the defendant from further engaging in unlawful conduct, and an award of three times the damages incurred, monetary relief, and costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Wilks Law LLC and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
