West Virginia draws $826K from settlement with drug company

A drug company that was once the target of a proposed takeover by Mylan is in the middle of $125 million settlement deal with WV and 47 other states. The settlement ends a multistate investigation into anticompetitive conduct by Cephalon that delayed generic versions of the wakefulness drug Provigil from entering the market for several years.

The settlement is subject to court review, including providing consumers with notice and an opportunity to participate in, object to, or opt out of settlement.

Provigil is prescribed to patients with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea or shift work disorder, according to a company website.

“Drug companies who put profits over people will be held accountable in New Mexico and our families will be made whole again”, said Attorney General Balderas. The delayed entry caused consumers and state entities to pay more for the drug than they would have if generic versions had launched by 2006.

In advance of Provigil’s patent expiration, Cephalon secured an additional patent for the drug.

Although the second patent was ultimately ruled to have been invalid, the drugmaker was able to maintain a market monopoly for almost six years by filing patent infringement lawsuits against all potential generic competitors, Porrino said. Cephalon settled those suits in 2005 and early 2006, paying competitors to delay sale of their generic versions of Provigil until at least April 2012. The final amount of the consumer recovery will depend on the number of consumers who submit claims.

The multistate settlement was facilitated by a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against Cephalon. The FTC settlement allowed for those escrow funds to be distributed for the settlement of certain related cases and government investigations, including that of the New Mexico Attorney General.

“It will be funded from the proceeds of the settlement entered into in 2015 between Cephalon and the FTC”, she added.