Cornerstone Research worked with the defense experts in a series of antitrust cases against the manufacturer of a branded drug with a dominant market share in its therapeutic class.
Cornerstone Research worked with the defense experts in a series of antitrust cases against the manufacturer of a branded drug with a dominant market share in its therapeutic class. The original suit was brought by a new entrant whose competing drug gained only a small market share. Class actions on behalf of direct purchasers and indirect purchasers followed.
The expert testimony explained the purpose and pro-competitive effect of share-based pricing in the contracts.
At issue was the effect on competition of contracts between the defendant and managed care entities that conditioned price discounts on the share of the defendant’s drug in the managed care organizations’ purchases. In the case brought by the new entrant, the plaintiff claimed that these contracts precluded it from effectively competing and therefore caused artificially low prices for its drug. The purchaser classes, however, claimed that the contracts created artificially high prices for the defendant’s drug.
Cornerstone Research worked with experts to address class certification in the indirect purchaser cases as well as damages in both the class action and competitor cases. The expert testimony explained the purpose and pro-competitive effect of share-based pricing in the contracts and showed that the entrant’s poor market performance could be attributed to its product characteristics and marketing efforts rather than to the challenged contracts.