Humana agrees not to reference Teva’s Israel ties at US drug trial

By Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Health insurer Humana has agreed not to refer to drugmaker Teva as an Israeli company at an upcoming U.S. drug price-fixing trial, after ​the drugmaker said public views on the Gaza war could ‌unfairly influence jurors.

Humana disclosed its agreement with Teva in a Wednesday night filing in the federal court in Philadelphia, where Teva and several other major pharmaceutical companies are due to stand trial next month on claims they conspired to ‌inflate ​the prices of some generic drugs.

The agreement ⁠underscores how divisive the ⁠issue has become in the United States following Israel’s military assault on the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel.

Humana and Teva did not immediately respond to requests for ​comment.

In a filing earlier this month, Tel Aviv-based Teva asked the judge overseeing the case to bar references at trial to ⁠Teva’s national origin, arguing it is irrelevant ⁠to the antitrust legal proceeding in the United ​States and could prejudice jurors against Teva.

“In the period of almost three ​years since the start of the Gaza War, anything connected ‌with Israel has been subject to the highest levels of controversy, with emotions running high,” Teva said.

Humana in its filing on Wednesday said that its lawyers during the trial “will not make references in ⁠argument or questioning relating to the fact that Teva is an Israeli company.”

The agreement does not restrict Humana from introducing documents at the trial ⁠just because “the fact that ‌Teva is an Israeli company can be adduced ⁠from the document.”

Teva has denied Humana’s allegations that ​it ‌conspired with other drugmakers to keep the prices ​of some drugs ⁠artificially high. The drugs include the muscle relaxant baclofen and blood pressure medication propranolol. The claims in the lawsuit are directed at Teva’s U.S.-based subsidiary.

The price-fixing trial is scheduled to begin on September 15 and end in late October.

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario ​and David Gaffen)