McKesson Beats Generic Drug Price-Fixing Conspiracy Claims (1)

McKesson Corp. has defeated a proposed class action—part of a sprawling multidistrict case—accusing the drug distribution giant of colluding with pharmaceutical companies to jack up the price of generics.

Marion Diagnostic Center LLC’s claim that McKesson should have been aware of unprecedented price hikes by its drugmaker business partners, because it was profiting from them, is insufficient to show the distributor participated in a conspiracy, a federal judge ruled June 26.

“McKesson’s ‘likely’ awareness” of the alleged conspiracy “is not enough to permit the court to infer that McKesson agreed to participate,” Judge Cynthia M. Rufe of the U.S. District ...