Lowey Dannenberg, on behalf of named plaintiff Premera Blue Cross, is leading a class on behalf of Third-Party Payers of Amitiza (Lubiprostone) against Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. and related entities. Plaintiff allege that drug manufacturers Takeda and Sucampo, acting as partners, reached an anticompetitive agreement with generic manufacturer Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. in 2014, under which Par would delay market entry of its generic Amitiza until January 1, 2021, at which point it could either sell its own generic product or a Sucampo-supplied product, and the parties would agree to split the generic revenue 50/50. During the delay period, sales of Amitiza generated more than $400 million each year for Takeda and Sucampo, much of it at the expense of Third-Party Payers.

On September 19, 2025, Judge Joun granted Premera’s motion for class certification, certifying both a damages class and an unjust enrichment class of Third-Party Payers who were injured by Takeda’s “pay-for delay” scheme that delayed generic competition. The Court appointed Lowey Dannenberg as lead counsel for the Third-Party Payers, and appointed Premera Blue Cross and Class Representative for the Third-Party Payers. The decision credited all of Premera’s arguments on class certification and found that all the elements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 have been met so that this litigation action can proceed as a class action on behalf of all Third-Party Payers.

This case is led by Peter St.Phillip, Uriel Rabinovitz, Renee Nolan, and Thomas Griffith on behalf of Plaintiff Premera Blue Cross. Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with updates on our cases.