Class Action Settlement News

The Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is entitled In Re: Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation and revolves around claims that Biovail, GlaxoSmithKline illegally conspired to prevent the antidepressant Wellbutrin XL from becoming available to the US public.

The lawsuit contends that the they filed “sham” patent lawsuits in order to prevent the drug from entering this highly lucrative market.  Wellbutrin XL did enter the market in December of 2006 but would have entered earlier if not for these sham patent that were filed.  A class member of this lawsuit is defined as anyone who  purchased generic Wellbutrin XL between November 14, 2005 and the present time frame in the states of California, Florida, Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Wisconsin.   The lawsuit explains that “[T]he defendants conducted a four-part scheme to delay the entry of generic equivalent of Wellbutrin XL into the market, primarily by misusing patent litigation. Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants (1) filed three sham patent litigations, (2) filed a sham listing with the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluation (the ‘Orange Book’), (3) filed a baseless FDA citizen petition and suit against the FDA, and (4) formed agreements with potential generic competitors. The plaintiffs contend that the effect of these activities was to delay the market entry of cheaper, generic alternatives to Wellbutrin XL,”.  The lawsuit is under the jurisdiction of the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Please check back for more news and updates.