UnitedHealth Enters Antitrust Fray Over Gilead’s HIV Drugs (1)

A UnitedHealth Group Inc. unit joined the legal dispute over Truvada and other blockbuster HIV drugs made by Gilead Sciences Inc., filing federal antitrust claims in Minneapolis over Gilead’s alleged scheme to corner the market by delaying the rollout of generic versions.

The lawsuit is the latest to allege a wide-ranging scheme to shore up Gilead’s longtime “stranglehold” in the market for HIV prevention drugs through unlawful “joint distribution agreements” with other drugmakers. It also targets the U.S. unit of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

“Gilead has built a business empire and generated enormous illegal profits” by going to “extraordinary ...