Companies Sued Over AIDS Drug Collusion

A class action suit has been filed against Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Japan Tobacco (Akros Pharma), and Janssen for engaging in a “long-running scheme to restrain competition with respect to some of the most important drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS.” The suit says that through an array of anti-competitive practices such as horizontal agreements constituting violations of the antitrust laws, Gilead has acquired and maintained a monopoly in the market for drugs that comprise the modern HIV treatment regimen known as “combination antiretroviral therapy.”

It says the scheme has enabled Gilead and its co-conspirators to unlawfully extend patent protection for their drugs, impair entry by would-be generic competitors, and charge exorbitant, supracompetitive prices for the drugs that people living with HIV need to survive.

The plaintiffs seek damages, injunctive relief, and other relief pursuant to the federal antitrust laws and state antitrust and consumer protection laws.