Gilead $247 Million Antitrust Deal Over HIV Drugs Gets Final Nod

Gilead Sciences Inc. won final approval Friday to pay $246.75 million to end allegations that anticompetitive conduct forced direct purchasers to pay more for drugs used to treat and prevent HIV.

Judge Edward M. Chen of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, granted the motion for final approval of the settlement, awarding the direct purchasers plaintiffs’ counsel $75 million in fees and $2.9 million in costs and litigation expenses along with a $40,000 class representative service award to KPH Healthcare Services Inc., also known as Kinney Drugs Inc.

The direct purchasers alleged the biopharmaceutical company used anticompetitive tactics to keep cheaper, generic drugs from the market.

The settlement, reached last September on the eve of trial, covers two classes of direct purchasers—entities or persons that purchased branded or generic Truvada and Atripla or generic Atripla over a five-year period. Each claimant will receive a pro rata share of the net settlement based on total unit volume of applicable purchases, depending which drugs were bought.

Before settlement, the plaintiffs’ economist estimated certified classes damages of $2.08 billion, the motion said. The $246.75 million from Gilead amounts to 11.9% of the possible damages.

The settlement follows a California jury finding in June that Gilead and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. didn’t engage in an anticompetitive conspiracy to delay generic versions of HIV treatment Truvada and other drugs.

The unanimous verdict in litigation, brought by end payors, individual health plans, and United Healthcare Services Inc., affirmed that a 2014 patent settlement between Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead and Israel-based Teva didn’t violate antitrust law.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Proskauer Rose LLP represented Gilead. Law Offices of Francis O. Scarpulla are liaison counsel for the class. Roberts Law Firm US PC and NastLaw LLC are co-lead counsel for direct purchaser plaintiffs. Hausfeld LLP is counsel for the class.

The case is In re HIV Antitrust Litig., N.D. Cal., No. 3:19-cv-02573, 1/19/24.