Knoll To Settle Synthroid Lawsuit

Knoll Pharmaceuticals has agreed in principle to pay $135 million into afund to settle class action lawsuits relating to alleged suppression of research demonstrating that its thyroid medication Synthroid (levothyroxine sodium) was no better than non-prescription thyroid drugs. Knoll did not admit wrongdoing but said that it wanted to avoid a long and expensive legal battle. Synthroid has an 85% share of the synthetic thyroid market.

The settlement calls for Knoll to contribute $98 million to the fund to cover up to 5 million plaintiffs in the 60 lawsuits which have been filed nationwide. If more people apply for reimbursement, the company will add up to $37 million to the fund. The settlement still needs the approval of a federal judge.

In April, a University of California at San Francisco study commissioned by Knoll concluded that Synthroid was no better than one brand-name and two generic equivalents (Marketletter May 26). Knoll disagreed with the results and considered suing to halt the publication. The researcher involved then told the Journal of the American Medical Association that the company had suppressed the study for more than six years. After the study was published, Knoll and its parent company BASF, as well as Boots, which BASF acquired in 1995, were sued for up to $8.5 billion for allegedly suppressing the study.