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Seeger Weiss is proud to announce that partner David Buchanan has been appointed to serve as co-lead counsel in the In re: Insulin Pricing Litigation multidistrict litigation by the honorable Judge Brian R. Martinotti. He was selected to co-lead the MDL’s Self-Funded Payer Track, composed of all actions brought individually on behalf of self-funded payers or groups such as local governments, unions, schools, educational institutions, organizations, and others who pay for prescription drugs provided to their health plan members.
Buchanan brings decades of experience litigating complex mass tort and class action cases before state and federal courts, including serving on the plaintiffs’ steering committee in the 3M Combat Arms Earplug litigation, the largest mass tort in American history, the plaintiffs’ executive committee in the NFL Concussion litigation, and co-chair of discovery as well as lead counsel in several bellwether trials in the Vioxx litigation.
“It is an honor and a privilege to have been chosen by Judge Martinotti to lead this deeply important litigation,” said Buchanan. “Insulin is a life-saving drug for millions of Americans living with diabetes, yet the cost of this vital medication has been artificially inflated by manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers. We will not rest until the defendants are held accountable for their collusive conspiracy to generate billions in illicit profits at the expense of patients and payors.”
Over the last two decades, the cost of insulin has risen over 1,000%, far outpacing the increase in the cost of production. This appointment positions Buchanan at the forefront of a critical legal battle against insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi – who control nearly the entire U.S. insulin market – as well as the nation’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx, over allegations these companies used unlawful, unfair, and deceptive practices to aggressively hike the cost of insulin and other diabetes medications.
Seeger Weiss represents several government entities, including Albany County, New York; Lake County, Illinois; Monmouth County, New Jersey; the City of Cleveland, Ohio; Arlington County, Virginia; and other entities who have filed similar lawsuits centralized before Judge Martinotti in the District of New Jersey.
One of the nation’s preeminent plaintiffs’ law firms, Seeger Weiss is best known for multidistrict mass torts and class actions in both state and federal court—and especially for taking those cases to trial. With the resources and dedication to take on the world’s largest corporations, the firm has an impressive track record of victories against companies like Merck, Monsanto, and 3M—and a reputation for sticking with a case from beginning to end. From offices in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, the firm has represented over 10,000 individuals, companies, and governments across the United States who have been injured or defrauded on a massive scale. Since its founding in 1999, it has led many of the most complex and high-profile cases in the country: the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, which the Washington Post called “the largest federal court case in U.S. history”; the ongoing “Dieselgate” scandal; the sprawling multistate litigation on behalf of survivors of child sexual abuse; and the history-making National Football League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation.