Garcia v. Novartis Pharms. Corp.

Xolair, an injected drug approved by the FDA for treating allergies, is co-promoted in the United States by Genentech, Inc. and Roche Holdings, Inc. (Genentech) and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Novartis Corp. (Novartis). Relators brought qui tam actions against Genentech and Novartis under the False Claims Act (FCA) and related state statutes, alleging that Defendants caused healthcare providers to submit false claims to the government for reimbursement for Xolair. The district court dismissed the federal claims with prejudice and then declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state-law claims and dismissed those claims with prejudice. The First Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part, holding that the district court (1) did not abuse its discretion in denying Relators’ motion to amend; (2) did not err in dismissing the federal claims with prejudice; and (3) erred in dismissing the pendant state-law claims with prejudice. Remanded. View "Garcia v. Novartis Pharms. Corp." on Justia Law