Sanofi-Aventis, Bristol-Myers Again Stop Plavix Fraud Suit

Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. defeated a whistleblower partnership’s claims that they violated the False Claims Act by improperly promoting blood thinner drug Plavix, because a switch of partnership members made the complaint invalid, a federal court in New Jersey ruled.

Whistleblower JKJ Partnership 2011, made up of three individual members, sued in 2011, but subsequently replaced one of the members. The replacement occurred before the partnership filed a second amended complaint in February 2017.

The suit can’t proceed because the partnership with the new member, “New JKJ,” didn’t satisfy Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil ...