AstraZeneca Subsidiary Accused of Soliris Drug Market Monopoly

A unit of AstraZeneca Plc is facing a new antitrust suit claiming the company monopolized the market for a blood disorder drug by blocking competitors that wanted to launch similar, less-expensive versions of the medication.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. forced buyers to pay higher prices for brand-name Soliris by delaying the entry of generics at far lower prices, health insurer EmblemHealth Inc. alleged in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“The effect of Alexion’s misconduct is to net Alexion billions of dollars in revenue at the expense of end payers, including the plaintiff and the class members, who will pay hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in unlawful overcharges,” Emblem said in the complaint.

AstraZeneca declined to comment.

Emblem’s suit accuses Boston-based Alexion of fraudulently obtaining five patents in 2017 and 2020 that it used to block the launch of biosimilar versions and extend its monopoly over the Soliris drug, a blockbuster mediation used to treat rare blood disorders and nerve diseases.

Alexion last year settled a patent infringement suit with Samsung Biologics Co. after failing to block a biosimilar version of Soliris.

Emblem is seeking relief under laws including Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits attempts to monopolize, as well as several state consumer protection laws.

Alexion is among numerous pharmaceutical companies facing antitrust allegations that they delayed the generic entry of drugs used to treat conditions including high cholesterol and narcolepsy.

Emblem is represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Rawlings & Associates PLLC.

The case is EmblemHealth Inc. v. Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-10985, 4/16/25.