Sanofi, Lilly, Novo Must Face More Insulin Price-Gouging Claims

Sanofi, Eli Lilly & Co., Novo Nordisk Inc., and three top pharmacy benefit managers must face deceptive trade practice claims brought by Harris County, Texas—home to Houston—over their alleged scheme to gouge insulin buyers through kickbacks, a federal judge ruled.

Judge Gray H. Miller said the allegations under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act can move forward in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, rejecting the argument that the county doesn’t qualify as a “consumer” with the right to sue under the statute.

“While the county obviously did not use the drugs, it ...