NEW YORK (Reuters) -Cigna sued Bristol Myers Squibb on Tuesday, accusing the drugmaker of violating U.S. antitrust law by keeping generic versions of its blockbuster multiple myeloma drug Pomalyst off the market so it can retain a monopoly.
In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Cigna said Bristol Myers’ Celgene unit filed sham lawsuits to protect its patents for Pomalyst, and paid several makers of generic versions of the drug to end challenges to the patents.
The Bloomfield, Connecticut-based insurer also said Celgene failed to disclose to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that a Boston doctor had already obtained a patent for pomalidomide, the chemical name for Pomalyst, to treat multiple myeloma.
By having “willfully maintained monopoly power” over brand name and generic Pomalyst, Bristol Myers caused purchasers such as Cigna to overpay by “many hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars,” the complaint said.
Cigna is seeking unspecified triple damages from Bristol Myers, which is based in Princeton, New Jersey.
Bristol Myers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The company’s U.S. sales of the drug, which is also sold under the name Imnovid, totaled $2.7 billion last year and $537 million in the first three months of 2025.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
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