On January 31, 2011, the District Court for Southern District of Ohio granted defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion, dismissing indirect purchaser class actions that challenged proposed reverse payment agreements as anticompetitive under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-2. Plaintiffs alleged those agreements prevented the defendants from entering into an alternative competitive agreement that would have permitted the cheaper generic version of Plavix to enter the market sooner. In re Plavix Indirect Purchaser Antitrust Litig. ("Plavix"), Slip Op., No. 1:06-cv-226, 2011 WL 335034 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 31, 2011).

Background – Kroger Co. v. Sanofi-Avantis, 701 F.Supp.2d 938 (S.D. Ohio 2010)

In an earlier opinion, which was incorporated by reference into the January 31 decision, the court dismissed the direct purchaser actions based on the same allegations. Accordingly, a brief description of the background of the case and the court's prior decision is helpful in understanding the context of the court's ruling dismissing the indirect purchaser claims.