Merck is sued by insurance company for delaying the listing of generic cholesterol drug Zetia

CompilationFan Dongdong

A few days ago, insurance companies Centene and Humana have announced a lawsuit against Merck

The two health insurance companies filed lawsuits in federal court in New Jersey last week

The issue in this litigation dispute is the so-called delayed payment transaction between Merck and the generic drug manufacturer.

The generic drug manufacturer Glenmark tried to sell the generic version of Zetia, but Merck filed a lawsuit against Glenmark.

The lawsuit alleges that Merck later admitted that its lawsuit against Glenmark had no basis, because Merck did not disclose existing patents to the US Patent and Trademark Office

With invalid patents, Merck prevented the FDA from approving Glenmark's Zetia generic drug

Under the terms of the settlement, Glenmark delayed the launch of Zetia's generic drug for five years

When Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in the fall of 2019, California became the first region in the United States to ban such delayed payment transactions

Centene and Humana are not alone in the lawsuit against Merck

Reference source:

Insurers sue Merck for'monopolistic scheme' to delay generics of blockbuster cholesterol drug