GSK and Novartis to appeal pricing judgement

Both GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Novartis have announced plans to appeal the recent judgement of a county court awarding compensatory damages against the companies and other pharmaceutical firms regarding the pricing of its drugs.

The jury in the Montgomery County Circuit Court in Alabama found GSK liable for compensatory damages of $80.9 million (40.7 million pounds) and Novartis liable for $33.2 million.

Neither firm had punitive damages awarded against them.

In total, 73 pharmaceutical companies were named in a lawsuit filed in January 2005 by the Alabama Attorney General regarding the alleged overpayment to doctors and pharmacists in the Medicaid system for Alabama.

Following the announcement by the court, both firms said they intended to appeal the decision

Chilton Varner, an attorney with King & Spalding of Atlanta who represented GSK, said: “We have said from the beginning that GSK reported true and accurate prices to the state of Alabama.”

He added the evidence shows the state to have made informed choices about how much to pay pharmacists in Alabama, while the state has not changed its rules on the issue since the filing of the lawsuit.

In February 2008, AstraZeneca pledged it would fight the Alabama court judgement that it falsely and misleadingly reported prices.