Lawsuit says Novo, OptumRx 'mutually benefited' from rebate scheme, while consumers paid the

Fierce Pharma ------ Novo Nordisk is the target, along with pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx, of a proposed class action lawsuit claiming a conspiracy to raise the price of diabetes medicines so that the drugmaker could pay rebates to the PBM, with U.S. consumers getting the sharp end of the stick in the deal. The action, filed this week in federal court in California on behalf of diabetes patient Ruth Johnson, claims that Danish drugmaker Novo artificially inflated the price of injected Type 2 diabetes med Victoza in order to subsidize kickbacks to OptumRx. The 65-page lawsuit claims that the practice was a big reason the price of Victoza more than doubled between 2009 and 2017, from just about $400 a package to more than $900. Johnson, as a Medicare patient, has had to shoulder a growing portion of that cost, the suit points out. In an emailed statement Friday, Ken Inchausti, director, reputation & media relations for Novo said, "We’re aware of the complaint and disagree with the allegations. We’re prepared to vigorously defend the company in this matter. At Novo Nordisk, we have a longstanding commitment to supporting patients’ access to our medicines. Since this is an ongoing litigation, we can’t comment further." To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.