Latest news with #EdgardoRamos
CNBC
24-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Cigna sues Bristol Myers for alleged monopoly over blockbuster cancer drug
Cigna sued Bristol Myers Squibb on Tuesday, accusing the drugmaker of violating U.S. antitrust law by keeping generic versions of its blockbuster blood cancer drug Pomalyst off the market so it could retain a monopoly. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Cigna said Bristol Myers' Celgene unit filed sham lawsuits to protect its patents for Pomalyst, whose chemical name is pomalidomide, and paid off several generic drugmakers to end legal challenges. The insurer also said Celgene did nottell the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that a Boston doctor had obtained a patent for pomalidomide to treat multiple myeloma, and defrauded that office by claiming "unexpected" positive results in testing. By having "willfully maintained monopoly power" over brand name and generic Pomalyst, Bristol Myers caused purchasers such as Cigna to overpay by "many hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars," the complaint said. Bristol Myers, based in Princeton, New Jersey, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cigna, based in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is seeking unspecified triple damages. It sued nearly three months after a Manhattan federal judge dismissed a proposed class action led by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana raising similar claims. In that case, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos said the plaintiffs failed to show Celgene committed fraud in procuring patents for Pomalyst, or that Celgene filed baseless lawsuits against generic drugmakers that led to fraudulent settlements. Bristol Myers' U.S. sales of the drug, which is also sold under the name Imnovid, totaled $2.7 billion last year and $537 million in the first three months of 2025. Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that affects plasma cells in bone marrow. There is no known cure, and the five-year survival rate was 62.4% between 2015 and 2021, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Epoch Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Judge Blocks Department of Education From Canceling COVID-Related School Aid
A federal judge on May 6 blocked the U.S. Department of Education from canceling more than $1 billion in funding that was allocated to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary schools and students. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos Education officials also cannot modify the previously-approved extensions without giving the states at least 14 days notice, the judge said. Congress allocated funds to states to distribute to schools to address problems stemming from the pandemic. The more than $276 billion was distributed to states through an education stabilization fund. Under laws passed by Congress, states had until Sept. 30, 2024, to designate the money, and until Jan. 28, 2025, to access funds to achieve the designations. States could ask for extensions for the latter deadline, and a number did so. The Department of Education granted extensions to at least 16 states, and Washington, enabling them to access the money through March 2026. Education Secretary Linda McMahon The plaintiffs—New York, Oregon, 13 other states, Washington, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro—said that they were facing being cut off from more than $1 billion if a preliminary injunction was not entered. Related Stories 4/11/2025 5/7/2025 In a memorandum in support of their motion for an injunction, they Lawyers for the government said in response that the actions were not arbitrary and capricious. 'The Department's actions are not arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law because recission of the prior extension was within the Department's discretion and did not conflict with the relevant appropriations statutes,' they The lawyers also said that the plaintiffs would not be irreparably harmed absent an injunction because they can still reapply for a fresh extension, but have chosen not to do so. The Department of Justice, which represents agencies in court, did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling by publication time. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat,
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Bristol Myers wins dismissal of lawsuit alleging Pomalyst monopoly
NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY.N), opens new tab won the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing it of fraudulently obtaining patents and filing sham patent lawsuits to maintain an illegal monopoly on its blockbuster blood cancer drug Pomalyst, keeping cheaper generic versions off the market. In a 70-page decision made public on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan said the health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and other Pomalyst purchasers failed to show that Bristol Myers and the former Celgene Corp violated the federal Sherman antitrust law. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Ramos said the plaintiff purchasers failed to establish fraud in the procurement of six patents related to Pomalyst. He also said they failed to show how nine lawsuits that Celgene filed between 2017 and 2020 against generic drug producers such as Teva ( opens new tab and Mylan (VTRS.O), opens new tab were "objectively baseless" and led to fraudulent settlements. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The plaintiffs claimed they were overcharged for Pomalyst since at least October 2020, when generic versions of the multiple myeloma treatment allegedly could have been launched but for the defendants' alleged illegal scheme. Pomalyst sales totaled $3.55 billion in 2024, or about 7.3% of Bristol Myers' $48.3 billion of overall revenue. The drug was developed by Celgene, which Bristol Myers bought in 2019. Bristol Myers is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The case is Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Co et al v Celgene Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 23-07871.
