AstraZeneca Moves Texas Fraud Claims From Paxton’s Go-To County

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP doesn’t have to defend Texas Medicaid fraud claims in the single-judge county where Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) turns often to sue drug companies, a statewide appeals court said.

The pharmaceutical giant argued successfully that whistleblower parties offered no evidence the company ran an alleged kick-back scheme in Harrison County, the Court of Appeals, Fifteenth District, said in a unanimous opinion Friday.

The case filed three years ago must be tried in Travis County, just like any other Medicaid fraud case without allegations linked specifically to one of Texas’ other counties.

AstraZeneca becomes the second pharmaceutical company ...