Latest News by Industry
• The company is seeking $25M in damages from each defendant
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) filed a lawsuit against drug distributors and a pharmacy, alleging that the latter sold counterfeit versions of its HIV drug.
J&J said in the suit made public on Tuesday, that the drugs it alleged were counterfeit, posed an acute threat to public health. J&J is seeking a court order blocking further counterfeit sales and at least $25 million in damages from each defendant, reported Reuters.
J&J said that three-drug distributors—SafeChain Solutions LLC, ProPharma Distribution LLC, and Scripts Wholesale Inc.—have sold large quantities of counterfeit HIV medications.
The company had detected a recent series of counterfeits of its products in the New York City area that came after Gilead filed a similar lawsuit last year.
Not the first time
J&J’s accusations mirror pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) allegations in January 2021, against drugmakers who sold counterfeit versions of its HIV medicines.
Gilead had identified 85,247 counterfeit bottles of its branded medications worth more than $250 million that were sold to pharmacies over the past two years following an intensive investigation and court-approved civil seizures.
Also read:
Source: Reuters