Merck Escapes Antitrust Liability in Suit Over Its Mumps Vaccine

Merck & Co. escaped antitrust claims by a group physicians who alleged that they bought the company’s mumps vaccine at inflated prices because it deceived the government to maintain its monopoly on the drug, after a Monday ruling by the Third Circuit.

The record contained evidence supporting the plaintiffs’ contention, but the allegedly false claims were the result of Merck’s “genuine and successful petitioning” of the Food and Drug Administration, and Merck is therefore entitled to Noerr-Pennington immunity, the unpublished opinion by Judge Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves said.

Under Noerr-Pennington immunity, a person who petitions the government for redress is immune ...