AbbVie must reimburse AndroGel overcharges

A U.S. District Court judge in Philadelphia has ruled that pharmaceutical firm AbbVie Inc. must pay $448 million in monetary relief to consumers who were allegedly overcharged for a testosterone replacement drug, in a case filed by the Federal Trade Commission.

The company said in a statement that it intends to appeal the ruling.

The FTC said in a statement Friday that the North Chicago, Illinois-based pharmaceutical firm had used sham litigation to illegally maintain its monopoly over AndroGel. The FTC said the court order represents the largest monetary award ever in a litigated FTC antitrust case.

The FTC said it had filed its complaint in 2014, charging that AbbVie and its partner, Bangkok-based Besins Healthcare Inc., illegally blocked American consumers’ access to lower-cost alternatives to AndroGel by filing baseless patent infringement lawsuits against potential generic competition.

FTC chairman Joe Simons said in the statement: “This decision is a double victory, both for patients who rely on AndroGel and for competition more broadly. It sends a clear signal that pharmaceutical companies can’t use baseless litigation to forestall competition from low-cost generics.”

The company said in a statement: “We are disappointed by the ruling. We believe our conduct was lawful and the damages award is improper. We intend to appeal.”

In January, a federal jury found AbbVie not liable in a lawsuit by an Arizona man who claimed he had suffered a pulmonary embolism due to using AndroGel.