TriCor suit granted class-action status

NEW YORK A judge for the United States District Court for the District of Delaware has given class-action status to a lawsuit that several drug stores filed against Abbott Labs and Fournier Industrie et Sante, according to the legal news Web site Law360.

The drug stores allege that the companies filed frivolous patent-infringement lawsuits to prevent a generic version of the anti-cholesterol drug TriCor from reaching the market.

The District of Columbia and 18 states filed a similar lawsuit, alleging that Abbott’s and Fournier’s actions forced their health plans to pay higher prices for TriCor, but the judge declined to give their suits class-action status.

The chains, which include CVS Pharmacy and Louisiana Wholesale Drug, argue that the two drug companies caused them to pay unnecessarily high prices that they had to pass on to consumers.

TriCor (fenofibrate) has annual sales of more than $1 billion, according to Abbott financial data.