Company: ABBV
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001551152-25-000020
Chunk: 361

Company: AbbVie Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-14
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 8
Chunk 361
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 LitigationLawsuits are pending against AbbVie and others generally alleging that the 2005 patent litigation settlement involving Niaspan entered into between Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (a company acquired by Abbott in 2006 and presently a subsidiary of AbbVie) and a generic company violated federal and state antitrust laws and state unfair and deceptive trade practices and unjust enrichment laws. Plaintiffs generally seek monetary damages and/or injunctive relief and attorneys' fees. The lawsuits pending in federal court consist of six individual plaintiff lawsuits and a certified class action by Niaspan direct purchasers. The cases are pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for coordinated or consolidated 

95     |  2024 Form 10-K

pre-trial proceedings under the federal multi-district litigation (MDL) Rules as In re: Niaspan Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2460. In October 2016, the Orange County, California District Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State of California regarding the Niaspan patent litigation settlement in Orange County Superior Court, asserting a claim under the unfair competition provision of the California Business and Professions Code seeking injunctive relief, restitution, civil penalties and attorneys’ fees.In November 2022, the State of Oregon filed a lawsuit in the Multnomah County, Oregon Circuit Court, alleging that 2011 patent litigation by Abbott with a generic company regarding AndroGel was sham litigation and the settlement of that litigation violated state antitrust law. Oregon also brought a claim under the Oregon False Claims Act, which the court dismissed on October 31, 2024. In November 2024, the parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve this lawsuit.Government ProceedingsLawsuits are pending against Allergan and several other manufacturers generally alleging that they improperly promoted and sold prescription opioid products. Approximately 435 lawsuits are pending against Allergan in federal and state courts. Most of the federal court lawsuits are consolidated for pre-trial purposes in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio under the MDL rules as In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804. Approximately 35 of the lawsuits are pending in various state courts. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits, which include states, counties, cities, other municipal entities, Native American tribes, union trust funds and other third-party payors, private hospitals and personal injury claimants, generally seek compensatory and punitive damages. Of these