Fideres Partners LLP, a leading independent economic consulting firm specializing in expert economic analysis for complex litigation, today announced its role in supporting the filing of a landmark class action lawsuit challenging alleged price fixing of generic Econazole antifungal cream. The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, represents a significant challenge to anticompetitive practices in the generic pharmaceutical industry.
Fideres’s sophisticated plus factor analysis proved instrumental in identifying suspicious market behavior and coordination among defendants Perrigo, Taro Pharmaceutical, and Teligent, providing crucial economic evidence supporting allegations of price manipulation in the generic drug market. The firm’s detailed statistical analysis revealed patterns consistent with coordinated conduct rather than independent competitive behavior.
Alberto Thomas, Founding Partner of Fideres, stated: « Our comprehensive plus factor analysis uncovered compelling evidence of coordinated behavior among the defendants following their attendance at industry meetings. The dramatic and simultaneous price increases observed in the Econazole market exhibit classic characteristics of collusive conduct that our economic modeling was able to identify and quantify. »
The litigation, filed by NECA-IBEW Welfare Trust Fund, alleges that the three companies conspired to fix prices for generic Econazole cream, resulting in a dramatic 539% price increase that occurred immediately after the defendants attended a June 2014 generic pharmaceutical manufacturer meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. Econazole is a potent topical antifungal medication widely prescribed for treating severe inflammatory skin infections including eczema.
Fideres’s plus factor analysis examined various economic indicators including pricing patterns, market behavior, timing of price changes, and inter-firm communications to build a comprehensive picture of alleged anticompetitive coordination. The firm’s work identified multiple economic plus factors that, when considered together, support an inference of conspiracy beyond mere parallel pricing.
« The timing and magnitude of the price increases following the industry meeting, combined with the defendants’ collective market dominance representing over 97% of the generic Econazole market, created a compelling economic narrative of coordinated conduct, » said Steffen Hennig, Co-Founder of Fideres. « Our plus factor analysis provided the statistical foundation necessary to demonstrate that the observed market behavior was inconsistent with independent competitive decision-making. »
The case alleges that the defendants’ coordinated conduct resulted in significant harm to healthcare consumers and payers, including employee benefit plans, insurance companies, and individual patients who were forced to pay artificially inflated prices for essential medication. Fideres’s economic analysis quantified the impact of the alleged price fixing on market participants and demonstrated the scope of potential damages.
The Econazole litigation forms part of broader governmental and private investigations into anticompetitive pricing practices in the generic pharmaceutical industry. The Department of Justice has been conducting ongoing criminal investigations into price fixing by generic drug manufacturers, with charges expected to be filed as the investigation progresses.
Fideres’s plus factor analysis methodology combines sophisticated econometric techniques with industry expertise to identify patterns of behavior that suggest coordination among competitors. The firm’s approach examines market structure, pricing dynamics, communication patterns, and other economic indicators to build compelling evidence of anticompetitive conduct.