Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro: Judge Orders Double Damages, Issues Stinging Rebuke in Average Wholesale ...(pJudge Saris goes on to point out AstraZ...),Health

"I find that BMS's conduct was willful and knowing when less than ten percent of its sales were made within five percent of the list price, and the spreads where huge. In these situations, BMS knew that the published wholesale list price was not an accurate price and was deceptive and unfair," Saris states in her ruling.

"Justice has served, but only in part. We have more work to do," Berman said. "The court has invited plaintiffs to expand this case to a nationwide class action for the next trial, potentially giving consumers across the country the same remedies this state case affords."

To date AWP plaintiffs have been awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, including a $70 million settlement from GlaxoSmithKline, one of the major defendants, which came in August 2006 removing them from this litigation. In the proposed settlement agreement, 30 percent of the $70 million settlement will go to consumers who incurred co-payments based on AWP for a list of specific Medicare Part B covered drugs manufactured by GSK. The remaining 70 percent will go to third-party payers including health plans, HMOs and other organizations who purchased certain GSK drugs.

The "Average Wholesale Price," or AWP, is a benchmark figure reported by drug manufacturers which health plans, government health programs such as Medicaid and other "third party payors" use to determine co-pays and physician reimbursements, among other uses.

The AWP class action suit was originally filed in 2002 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. The original complaint names 23 pharmaceutical companies including many of the U.S.'s major drug manufacturers, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson. The original suit represent
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