AstraZeneca moved to dismiss the complaint in June 2006 and the Court stayed the case. In April 2010, the Court issued an opinion denying the motion to dismiss. After a period of intense documentary and deposition discovery, the parties entered into discussion of settlement and the case settled with a class-wide payment of $20 million. Final approval of the settlement was granted on Feb. 21, 2012.

Case Status
Settled
Class Certified
Settlement Amount
$20 Million
Case Caption
IN RE METOPROLOL SUCCINATE DIRECT PURCHASER ANTITRUST LITIGATION
Position
Co-Lead Counsel
Attorneys
Thomas M. Sobol
Practice Areas
Antitrust Litigation
Class Action
Pharmaceutical Fraud
Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
Case Number
06-CV-00063
Defendant(S)
AztraZeneca PLC
File Date
Related Documents

In January 2006, Hagens Berman filed an antitrust lawsuit on behalf of pharmaceutical product wholesalers and pharmacies against pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca, alleging the company engaged in an anti-competitive scheme to suppress generic competition for the drug Toprol XL, an extended-release hypertension drug. Hagens Berman is one of three firms leading the case on behalf of a proposed class of direct purchaser plaintiffs.

AstraZeneca's misconduct included instituting baseless patent infringement litigation against generic pharmaceutical manufacturer KV Pharmaceutical Company which, under the Hatch-Waxman Act, resulted in an automatic 30-month stay in the FDA's approval of KV's application to market a generic version of Toprol XL.

CASE TIMELINE

Case Settled

AstraZeneca moved to dismiss the complaint in June 2006 and the Court stayed the case. In April 2010, the Court issued an opinion denying the motion to dismiss. After a period of intense documentary and deposition discovery, the parties entered into discussion of settlement and the case settled with a class-wide payment of $20 million. Final approval of the settlement was granted on Feb. 21, 2012.

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