Wiping its slate ahead of BMS buy, Celgene to pay 117M Dollars in Revlimid antitrust settlements

With Celgene making the big move under Bristol-Myers Squibbs umbrella, the drugmaker is looking to clear its books before the merger. Two antitrust settlements totaling more than 100 million dollars could help soothe BMS mind. Celgene will pay Mylan 62 million dollars to settle claims that it intentionally stifled generic competition for its blockbuster multiple myeloma med Revlimid and predecessor Thalomid. The Big Biotech refused to sell samples of the two drugs to generics makers, the lawsuit said—and those samples are necessary for copycats to win FDA approval. Without the samples, Mylan couldn't perform the bioequivalence testing necessary to formulate a generic and submit it to the FDA for approval. Mylan’s suit, filed in 2014, was scheduled for trial in October, according to an SEC filing. Celgene chose not to comment on the settlement. The Mylan settlement follows a separate $55 million payout to close a class-action lawsuit from the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local 1 Health Fund. In that case, the union claimed Celgene not only refused to sell Revlimid and Thalomid samples, but also filed superfluous patent challenges to protect its drugs and agreed to exclusive supply agreements to stem the flow of Thalomid’s active ingredient from other suppliers. Celgene approved that settlement a week ago.