A tentative class-action settlement has been reached by lawyers for purchasers and insurers of EpiPen emergency allergy treatment that will provide for $345 million in payments.
The settlement, which still must be formally approved by a federal judge, was the result of a class-action suit claiming that pharmaceutical companies engaged in price fixing that resulted in huge increases in the cost to individuals and to insurers.
Individuals who purchased EpiPens between 2011 and 2020 are eligible to receive payments. They should fill out the forms by Nov. 12.
It has yet to be determined how much money individual customers will receive. Nor has it been determined how many tens of millions of dollars the class-action lawyers will receive.
The suit was brought in 2017 accusing Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies of colluding to raise the price of the EpiPens from $100 to $600 as well as paying other companies not to produce competing products.
The tentative settlement is with Pfizer, Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc., and King Pharmaceuticals. The defendants have denied wrongdoing.
The current settlement does not resolve claims against other defendants in the class action lawsuit: Mylan N.V., Mylan Specialty L.P., Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Viatris Inc., or Heather Bresch (the “Mylan defendants”). A trial over those claims is scheduled to begin Jan. 24, 2022, according to TopClassAction.com.
Mylan in 2017 agreed to pay $465 million to resolve U.S. Justice Department claims it overcharged the government for the EpiPen, according to Reuters.
