Court upholds dismissal of pharmaceutical price fixing suit

NEW YORK An appeals court in California upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit against 19 drug companies by several California drug stores that alleged the companies inflated drug prices.

The court ruled in favor of the pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, that the drug stores couldn’t seek damages because they passed the costs on to customers and thus avoided damages to their profits.

The decision upholds a 2006 decision from a state court in Oakland, Calif.