Drugmakers, PBMs Get Fraud Claims Trimmed in Insulin-Pricing Row

Drugmakers Eli Lilly & Co., Novo Nordisk Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis US LLC and pharmacy benefit managers such as Express Scripts won’t face certain civil fraud claims in connection with alleged price-fixing of diabetes treatment drugs.

The plaintiff health benefit managers and trusts were barred from asserting civil claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act because they didn’t directly purchase the drugs, but rather reimbursed their members for the cost, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey said Tuesday.

The “indirect purchaser rule” developed by the US Supreme Court in the antitrust context holds ...