CSL and Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association Agree to Pay $64 Million To Settle Plasma-Derivative Protein Therapies Antitrust Case
CHICAGO, Oct 08, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- CSL Limited, CSL Behring LLC, CSL Plasma, Inc. (collectively, “CSL”), and the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (“PPTA”) have agreed to pay $64 million dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by the University of Utah Hospital and other health care providers alleging that CSL, the PPTA, and Baxter, Inc., agreed between 2003-2009 to restrict the supply of immunoglobulin and albumin, and thereby increase the prices of those therapies, according to attorneys at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and Williams, Montgomery & John Ltd.
Richard Koffman, of Cohen Milstein, and Charles Tompkins, of Williams, Montgomery & John, are the Court-appointed counsel representing the proposed class of distributors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers with which the settlement was reached.
“The bold decision of CSL and PPTA to pay $64 million to class members and settle this four-year old litigation is in our view a very positive move for the purchasers of immunoglobulin and albumin, and, ultimately, for CSL and PPTA as well,” said Tompkins.
CSL and PPTA are the first defendants to settle. The case will continue against Baxter. Plaintiffs moved on September 6, 2013, for certification of a litigation class; that motion remains pending.
“We are pleased to have obtained significant monetary relief for direct purchasers of immunoglobulin and albumin,” said Koffman. “We look forward to continuing this litigation against Baxter to obtain further relief for direct purchasers of these crucial, life-saving therapies.”
The settlement must be approved by United States District Judge Joan B. Gottschall of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. A hearing on preliminary approval of the settlement is expected later this fall.
The case is In re Plasma-Derivative Protein Therapies Antitrust Litigation, No. 09 C 7666.
SOURCE: Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
for Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC
Pam Avery, 402-305-4799
Pam@turnerstrategies.com
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