PITTSBURGH, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Viatris
(NASDAQ: VTRS) today announced that the U.S. District Court for the
District of Kansas ruled, in
substantial part, in Mylan's favor on the company's summary
judgment motion in the class action related to EpiPen®
Auto-Injector.
The company is pleased with the court's decision to dismiss all
of the plaintiffs' claims under the federal RICO statute, which
include claims asserted against Mylan's former CEO Heather Bresch. The court also dismissed claims
alleging that Mylan foreclosed branded competition through rebate
arrangements with pharmacy benefit managers.
The only remaining claim in this class action pertains to a
patent settlement between Pfizer and Teva and other alleged actions
regarding the launch of Teva's generic epinephrine auto-injector.
Today's ruling was not a decision on the merits of that claim and
did not resolve the claim in plaintiffs' favor. The court's
decision does, however, vindicate the company's continued
perseverance in defending itself against a series of claims over
the past few years relating to EpiPen that have proven to be
baseless, and provide the company with the opportunity to further
defend itself vigorously in a trial currently scheduled to begin
September 7, 2021. The company firmly
believes that Mylan's conduct was lawful and pro-competitive, and
that plaintiffs will have great difficulty proving damages
resulting from Mylan's actions.
Today's ruling follows a December
2020 decision by the same court granting summary judgment in
Mylan's favor in a separate lawsuit brought by Sanofi related to
EpiPen in which the court also rejected all of Sanofi's claims that
Mylan engaged in anticompetitive practices to market EpiPen.
About Viatris
Viatris Inc. (NASDAQ: VTRS) is a new
kind of healthcare company, empowering people worldwide to live
healthier at every stage of life. We provide access to medicines,
advance sustainable operations, develop innovative solutions and
leverage our collective expertise to connect more people to more
products and services through our one-of-a-kind Global Healthcare
Gateway®. Formed in November
2020, Viatris brings together scientific, manufacturing and
distribution expertise with proven regulatory, medical and
commercial capabilities to deliver high-quality medicines to
patients in more than 165 countries and territories. Viatris'
portfolio comprises more than 1,400 approved molecules across a
wide range of therapeutic areas, spanning both non-communicable and
infectious diseases, including globally recognized brands, complex
generic and branded medicines, a growing portfolio of biosimilars
and a variety of over-the-counter consumer products. With a global
workforce of approximately 45,000, Viatris is headquartered in the
U.S., with global centers in Pittsburgh, Shanghai and Hyderabad, India. Learn more at
viatris.com and investor.viatris.com, and connect with us on
Twitter at @ViatrisInc, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
includes statements that constitute "forward-looking statements."
These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward
looking statements may include statements about the Company's
previously disclosed EpiPen® Auto-Injector class action; that the
Company is confident evidence regarding the only remaining claim
will show Mylan's actions were lawful and pro-competitive; that
this ruling does vindicate the company's continued perseverance in
defending itself against a series of claims over the past few years
relating to EpiPen that have been proven to be baseless and provide
the opportunity to further defend itself vigorously in a trial
currently scheduled to begin September 7,
2021; that the company firmly believes that Mylan's conduct
was lawful and pro-competitive, and that plaintiffs will have great
difficulty proving damages resulting from Mylan's actions. Because
forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and
uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such statements. Factors that could
cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to: the scope, timing and outcome of these or any other
ongoing legal proceedings and the impact of any such proceedings;
the potential impact of public health outbreaks, epidemics and
pandemics, including the ongoing challenges and uncertainties posed
by the COVID-19 pandemic; the integration of Mylan N.V. and Pfizer
Inc.'s Upjohn business (the "Upjohn Business"), which combined to
form Viatris (the "Combination") and the implementation of our
global restructuring initiatives being more difficult, time
consuming or costly than expected, or being unsuccessful; the
ability to achieve expected benefits, synergies and operating
efficiencies in connection with the Combination or its
restructuring initiatives within the expected timeframe or at all;
actions and decisions of healthcare and pharmaceutical regulators;
changes in healthcare and pharmaceutical laws and regulations in
the U.S. and abroad; any regulatory, legal or other impediments to
Viatris' ability to bring new products to market, including but not
limited to "at-risk" launches; Viatris' or its partners' ability to
develop, manufacture and commercialize products; the scope, timing
and outcome of any ongoing legal proceedings and the impact of any
such proceedings; any significant breach of data security or data
privacy or disruptions to our information technology systems; risks
associated with international operations, including our operations
in China; the ability to protect
intellectual property and preserve intellectual property rights;
changes in third-party relationships; the effect of any changes in
Viatris' or its partners' customer and supplier relationships and
customer purchasing patterns; the impacts of competition; changes
in the economic and financial conditions of Viatris or its
partners; uncertainties and matters beyond the control of
management; and the other risks Viatris' filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Viatris routinely uses its
website at investor.viatris.com as a means of disclosing material
information to the public in a broad, non-exclusionary manner for
purposes of the SEC's Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD). Viatris
undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions
or changes after the date of this release other than as required by
law.
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SOURCE Viatris Inc.