Pfizer, other drugmakers ask court to bar ex-prosecutor from price-fixing lawsuits
11/09/2025 19:47
By Mike Scarcella Sept 11 (Reuters) - A former government antitrust enforcer who oversaw price-fixing cases for U.S. states against major generic drugmakers should be barred from working on similar matters at his private law firm, a group of pharmaceutical companies told a federal judge on Wednesday. In filings in federal court in Philadelphia, Pfizer, Teva, Mylan and several other drugmakers said that the lawyer, Joseph Nielsen, a former assistant Connecticut state attorney general, and his law firm should be disqualified from representing insurers Molina and Humana in ongoing antitrust litigation. The companies claimed that Nielsen, who had worked for Connecticut for nearly 20 years until July, acquired confidential information while overseeing drug-price litigation for the state against dozens of drug manufacturers. Nielsen and his law firm Lowey Dannenberg, a small plaintiffs-focused firm with offices in New York and Pennsylvania, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Lowey firm told the defendants that Nielsen would not share confidential information gained from past settlement negotiations and that there were no restrictions on his representation of Molina and Humana, the drugmakers said in their court filings. Nielsen’s participation in the lawsuit runs afoul of rules restricting the work of government lawyers who enter private practice, the drugmakers alleged. “He undoubtedly has unique insight into how defendants assess the merits, value the claims, approach settlement negotiations, and is able or unable to satisfy any judgment or settlement demand,” according to the drugmakers. “He cannot unlearn any of that.” Pfizer, Teva and Mylan, now part of Viatris, also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nielsen began representing Molina and Humana in July as a newly-named partner at Lowey. The firm markets its work for major insurers seeking damages for alleged overcharges for prescription drugs. The push to disqualify Nielsen and his firm comes after Humana’s lawsuit was selected last week by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in Philadelphia as a bellwether case to test claims against the drugmakers, and was set for trial in September 2026. Rufe in an order on Thursday referred the drugmakers' disqualification effort to a court official to prepare a report and recommendation to the judge. The case is In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, No. 2:20-cv-00695-CMR. Read more: Optum picks new fight to kick law firm Motley Rice off opioids case Law firm Quinn Emanuel accused of turning on ex-client in fintech case Ethics ruling bars law firm from taking hospital clients in Blue Cross case (Reporting by Mike Scarcella) ((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))