To receive settlement funds, claims must be filed by Wednesday, June 25
Receiving an extension on the deadlines for consumers to submit claims, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin reminds Rhode Island residents who paid for the brand-name drug Provigil or generic modafinil from June 24, 2006, to March 31, 2012 to file claims for reimbursement by June 25, 2017 as part of a multi-million-dollar settlement with the company.
Provigil, which includes the active ingredient modafinil, is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve wakefulness in adult patients with excessive sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea and shift work disorder.
In August 2016, Attorney General Kilmartin and 47 other state attorneys general announced the settlement with biopharmaceutical company Cephalon and its affiliated companies, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and Barr Laboratories, that resolved allegations that the companies engaged in unlawful "pay-for-delay" anticompetitive conduct involving the patent exclusivity for Provigil.
"The company purposefully kept prices inflated to increase their profits, at the expense of the consumer. The money from the settlement is rightfully the consumers, and therefore I urge all Rhode Island consumers who paid for Provigil or the generic modafinil during the time the settlement covers to file a claim today," said Attorney General Kilmartin
The settlement included $35 million to compensate eligible consumers who may have been harmed by the alleged conduct. While the claims period has been advertised for several months, many consumers may not realize that the claims period will close. Originally, the deadline for consumers to file claims seeking to receive some of that settlement or object to the settlement was Thursday, April 13, 2017. The States, including Rhode Island, sought and were granted an extension of the time for consumers to claim or object to June 25, 2017.
Eligible consumers are those who paid for brand-name Provigil or generic modafinil from June 24, 2006, to March 31, 2012. Rhode Island residents, in total, are eligible for approximately $170,000 in restitution payments through this settlement.
For more information or to obtain a claim form, visit www.StateAGProvigilSettlement.com or call 1-877-236-1413.