Retailers Pursue Three Drugmakers Over Reverse Payment Deal

Retailers Walmart, Rite Aid, and CVS are pushing back against attempts by Merck, Glenmark and Par Pharmaceuticals to dismiss a federal lawsuit over an alleged antitrust conspiracy over Glenmark’s generic of Merck’s high cholesterol drug Zetia.

The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia alleges that Glenmark entered into an arrangement with Merck in 2010 when the companies settled patent infringement litigation, that Glenmark would not release its generic until December 2016.

Par Pharmaceuticals, which had a preexisting distribution agreement with Glenmark, became a “willing and voluntary” member of the conspiracy, according to the complaint. The retailers allege that because of the three-way arrangement, they were overcharged for both the branded drug and Par’s generic.