Allergan, Lupin Must Face Payer Class in Loestrin Antitrust Suit

A group of pension and benefit funds won class action status Sept. 17 in a lawsuit accusing Allergan PLC, Lupin Ltd. and their affiliates of divvying up the birth control market, but a District of Rhode Island judge rejected a parallel bid by consumers.

The multidistrict suit also targets several formerly independent companies owned by Allergan. It concerns patent infringement settlements that Warner Chilcott Co., now an Allergan subsidiary, reached with other drugmakers looking to roll out generic versions of its contraceptive pill Loestrin 24 FE.

Warner allegedly agreed to stay out of the eventual generic Loestrin market in ...