Teva must face Mylan lawsuit over generic competition for Copaxone

Viatris

13/04/2026 20:18

By Blake Brittain

April 13 (Reuters) - Teva Pharmaceutical TEVA.TA must face a lawsuit claiming it used unlawful methods to block generic competition for its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, a New Jersey federal judge said on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Julien Neals denied the company's bid to dismiss allegations by generic drugmaker Viatris' VTRS.O Mylan subsidiary that Teva broke federal antitrust law by encouraging its sales representatives to spread false information about generic Copaxone and pressuring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to exclude generics from their plans.

Neals dismissed other Mylan antitrust claims, including that Teva misused litigation as part of its alleged anticompetitive scheme.

Spokespeople for Teva and Mylan did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

Teva's Copaxone earned the Israel-based company more than $4.2 billion in revenue in 2016, according to a company report, before generic competition diminished its sales. Mylan launched its generic versions of Copaxone in 2017.

Mylan sued Teva in 2021, alleging it used a multi-faceted scheme to prevent sales of generic Copaxone after its patent exclusivity expired. Teva denied the allegations and asked to dismiss the case.

Neals on Monday rejected Teva's request to dismiss Mylan's claims that it tried to prevent generic Copaxone sales by making false statements about the generic's effectiveness and pressuring PBMs to stop covering the generic.

The European Union fined Teva more than $500 million in 2024 based on similar allegations that it abused its dominant position to delay generic Copaxone competition.

The case is Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc v. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, No. 2:21-cv-13087.

For Mylan: Arnold Calmann, Stuart Williams, Michael Sommer,  Seth Silber and Brendan Coffman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

For Teva: Liza Walsh and Christine Gannon of Walsh Pizzi O'Reilly Falanga; Christopher Holding, Daryl Wiesen and Brian Burgess of Goodwin Procter

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)