Amicus Brief: Regeneron v Novartis
In Regeneron v. Novartis, Regeneron alleged that Defendants restrained competition for anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs in the prefilled syringes (PFS) market. COSAL’s brief asserted that the District Court imposed too high of a standard when they dismissed the complaint for lack of a product market definition. Market definitions in antitrust cases are very fact driven and data is not always publicly available. Thus, granting dismissal for an insufficient market definition is not always fair because discovery is often needed. The District Court made Regeneron prove the relevant market earlier than necessary, as it should have been defined after factual investigation. Even so, Regeneron asserted that anti-VEGF PFSs are different than vial delivery systems due to factors such as accuracy, approval, side effects, and efficiency. As such, they said vials were not alternatives for PFSs, and should therefore be considered a distinct market. COSAL suggested that Regeneron’s details surpass the standards for definitions at the pleading stage. Requiring more specificity would hinder private antitrust enforcement because cases would be dismissed before reaching discovery. As such, COSAL said that the decision should be reversed. Steven Williams wrote this brief.
