CINCINNATI, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a case in which the plaintiffs were seeking more than $300 million in damages, a Hamilton County court jury today awarded $7.8 million to the board of the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) as a result of a civil contract dispute with Medco Health Solutions, Inc. . Medco said it would appeal the award.
The jury concluded the civil trial by rejecting allegations that Medco breached its contract related to mail-order dispensing fees. The jury was unable to reach a decision on whether Medco breached its contract related to a rebate-sharing agreement. Separately, the jury cleared co-defendant Merck & Co., Inc. of tortious interference.
In mid-trial (on November 23), the judge dismissed several other portions of the lawsuit due to lack of evidence.
As part of today’s decision, jurors, however, found against Medco related to non-contractual duties stemming from their business relationship.
“We believe the evidence supported complete vindication; we plan to immediately file an appeal related to those issues in which Medco was unsuccessful,” said Medco General Counsel David Machlowitz. “Although the award was a fraction of the claim made by the plaintiffs, we believe there are multiple grounds for Medco to successfully reverse this decision on appeal. Medco’s conduct was appropriate, legal, and professional, and in accord with our contract, which served the best interests of the state retirement system.”
The allegations made in the case were related to a series of agreements the retirement system first signed in 1993, under which Medco provided pharmacy benefit services to the system’s beneficiaries.
Medco’s agreement with STRS ended in 2001. Medco continues to serve the State of Ohio and four other Ohio state retirement systems.
About Medco
Medco Health Solutions, Inc. is a leader in managing prescription drug benefit programs that are designed to drive down the cost of pharmacy healthcare for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions and government agencies of all sizes. With its technologically advanced mail-order pharmacies and its award-winning Internet pharmacy, Medco has been recognized for setting new industry benchmarks for pharmacy dispensing quality. Medco serves the needs of patients with complex conditions requiring sophisticated treatment through its specialty pharmacy operation, which became the nation’s largest with the 2005 acquisition of Accredo Health. Medco, the highest-ranked prescription drug benefit manager on Fortune magazine’s list of “America’s Most Admired Companies,” is a Fortune 50 company with 2004 revenues of $35 billion. On the Net: http://www.medco.com.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this presentation should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Soraya Rodriguez-Balzac, +1-201-269-6552,soraya_rodriguez-balzac@medco.com, or Investors: Susan Cramer,+1-201-269-6187, susan_cramer@medco.com, both of Medco
Web site: http://www.medco.com/
