Right before opening arguments were set to begin in Gilead Sciences and Teva’s HIV antitrust trial, the two came to a last-minute settlement with some of the plaintiff groups.
Both companies settled with the pharmacy plaintiffs, a group that includes CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid and Walgreens, while Gilead made a deal with the direct purchasers. Now, indirect purchasers and others involved in the suit can take their claims to a California federal jury.
Gilead and Teva confirmed the settlements, and Gilead noted that the lawsuit with the other parties is ongoing.
“The claims against Gilead in this lawsuit lack merit, do not accurately reflect antitrust laws, and ignore Gilead’s history of innovation and scientific advancements to help address the pressing challenges of the HIV epidemic,” a Gilead spokesperson said over email.
The deals mark an eleventh hour end to a sprawling case that dates back to 2019, when plaintiffs including UnitedHealthcare claimed that the two companies agreed to a series of unfair patent settlements that delayed market entry for HIV generics. In turn, the plaintiffs paid more for the drugs, they alleged.
The case centered on Gilead’s Viread, Truvada and Atripla and Teva’s generic versions of the three. In 2013, Gilead and Teva settled in a Viread patent case, allowing Teva’s generic to launch in December 2017.
In 2019, the two again settled in a Truvada case, clearing Teva’s Truvada and Atripla generics to enter the market in 2020, one year earlier than expected.
The day before the newest settlements were reached, a Teva spokesperson told Fierce Pharma in an emailed statement that it would “vigorously defend” itself against the claims.
Meanwhile, Gilead said that the Teva settlement “allowed for generic medicines to come to the market before the expiration of the patents.”
Bristol Myers Squibb was previously a defendant but escaped from the litigation last April with an $11 million settlement. Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit is involved in a separate category of claims regarding HIV combination drugs but isn’t involved in the specific trial that just settled.