Pfizer, Teva and several other pharmaceutical companies have lost an attempt to remove a former state prosecutor from representing health insurers in a major U.S. lawsuit accusing generic drugmakers of price-fixing.
U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe rejected the request in a ruling issued Monday, allowing attorney Joseph Nielsen and his law firm, Lowey Dannenberg, to continue representing insurers in the case. The decision was first reported by Reuters.
The lawsuits are part of a sweeping antitrust case accusing dozens of generic drug manufacturers of conspiring to inflate the prices of widely used medications.
Court rejects conflict-of-interest claims
Drugmakers argued that Nielsen should be disqualified because of his previous role as an assistant attorney general in Connecticut, where he worked for nearly two decades on antitrust investigations.
During that time, Nielsen helped oversee claims brought by several U.S. states alleging that generic drug companies coordinated price increases across the market.
Pfizer, Teva and other defendants said Nielsen might possess confidential information from his government work that could unfairly benefit the insurers he now represents.
“He brought with him to private practice a trove of knowledge and information gained by wielding government authority,” the companies argued in court filings, claiming that some of that information could harm defendants if shared with his new clients.
Judge Rufe rejected those claims, saying the companies had not demonstrated that Nielsen possessed confidential information that would give the plaintiffs an unfair advantage.
She also ruled that Nielsen had not violated Pennsylvania’s professional conduct rules governing lawyers who move from government roles into private practice.
Lawsuit targets alleged generic drug price conspiracy
Nielsen joined Lowey Dannenberg last year after leaving his position with the Connecticut attorney general’s office. The firm represents major health insurers including Humana and Molina Healthcare in several of the lawsuits.
The broader litigation, known as In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The case involves allegations that multiple pharmaceutical companies coordinated price increases for generic drugs over several years, forcing insurers and consumers to pay inflated costs for medications.
Pfizer, Teva and Bausch Health are among the companies named as defendants in the case. None of the companies immediately responded to requests for comment following the ruling.
The decision allows Nielsen to remain involved in the litigation as it moves forward, keeping intact the legal team representing insurers seeking damages over the alleged overcharges.
