Teva moves to dismiss Humana's lawsuit over multiple sclerosis drug

Teva Pharmaceuticals and two specialty pharmacies filed separate motions to dismiss a lawsuit in which Humana accuses the drugmakers of partaking in a copay scheme for Copaxone, a multiple sclerosis drug. 

In Humana's lawsuit, the health insurer claims that Teva created a fraud scheme to increase Copaxone profits by subsidizing copays for Medicare Part D patients. Two specialty pharmacies, Advanced Care Scripts and AssistRx, filled prescriptions for Copaxone and arranged copayment assistance from charitable organizations that Teva donated to, Humana alleges.

Teva and the specialty pharmacies argued in separate motions filed April 2 that Humana's lawsuit should be dismissed because the allegations are time-barred and don't adequately show violations of racketeering laws.

In addition to Humana's lawsuit, the U.S. government sued Teva in August 2020 for the alleged scheme. In that lawsuit, the government claims Teva paid the Chronic Disease Fund and The Assistance Fund to cover Medicare copayments for patients using Copaxone from 2006-15. The Justice Department argued this caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of false claims, which led to large revenue sums for Teva.

Teva firmly rejected the U.S. government's allegations, saying it will "vigorously defend the company in court. Teva has fully cooperated throughout the course of the Department of Justice investigation and has attempted to reach a resolution in the best interest of the company, its stakeholders and the patients the company serves. The DOJ has shown an unwillingness to consider alternatives that would not deeply impact Teva and the stakeholders who depend on the company, including the patients who benefit from our medicines."

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