Bayer Must Face Antitrust Claims in Claritin Trademark Lawsuit

Bayer Healthcare LLC failed to escape antitrust claims accusing the drugmaker of wielding “sham” trademark lawsuits to keep prices of allergy medicine Claritin artificially high.

The claims brought by Sigma Deals LLC, a company accused of illegally selling over 64,000 Bayer products, demonstrate a “dangerous probability of Bayer achieving monopoly power,” according to an opinion issued Thursday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Bayer sued Samuel Schiff, the alleged “sole member” of Sigma, and his wife Miriam Kleinbart in July. The lawsuit claims the pair controls websites operating multiple unauthorized Amazon and Walmart Inc. storefronts ...