Phi Finney McDonald acts for the Plaintiff and group members in a class action against Mayne Pharma Group Limited (MYX; MYPHY) (Mayne Pharma) commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria on behalf of investors who acquired fully paid ordinary shares in Mayne Pharma between 24 November 2014 and 15 December 2016 (inclusive) (Claim Period). Vannin Capital Operations Limited (Vannin), a global litigation funder is providing funding for the Mayne Pharma Class Action.
| Settlement
A settlement of AUD$38 million, inclusive of legal fees, expenses, disbursements, any funding commission, and interest, to resolve the claims of all group members was reached in the Mayne Pharma Class Action (Settlement). On 19 December 2024, the Supreme Court of Victoria (the Court) approved the Settlement as fair and reasonable and in the interests of all group members. The Court also approved a Settlement Distribution Scheme and appointed Cameron Myers, Principal Lawyer at Phi Finney McDonald, as the administrator with responsibility for administering the Settlement (Administrator). A copy of the Court judgment and the Settlement Approval Orders are available in the Key Documents below. The Mayne Pharma class action has been the subject of a Court ordered opt out and registration process. The opt out and claim registration deadline was 4pm (AEST) on 28 June 2023. Only group members who registered or were otherwise deemed to be registered group members by order of the Court are eligible to participate in the distribution from the Settlement (Participating Group Members). It is no longer possible for group members to register or request to participate in the Settlement. Distribution of assessed entitlements in accordance with the Settlement Distribution Scheme have now been paid to Participating Group Members. |
Background to the Mayne Pharma Class Action
The Mayne Pharma Class Action followed the announcement on 15 December 2016 that the Attorney General of Connecticut had commenced anti-trust civil proceedings against a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Mayne Pharma’s US subsidiary. It is alleged in that proceeding that Mayne Pharma’s US subsidiary, along with other defendants, participated in a conspiracy to restrain trade, inflate the price of generic pharmaceuticals, and reduce competition.
The market responded strongly to this information, with Mayne Pharma’s share price falling around 10% over the following trading days.
The details of the allegations in the class action are set out in the Amended Statement of Claim. In summary the Plaintiff alleged that Mayne Pharma:
- contravened its continuous disclosure obligations during the Claim Period by failing to properly inform the market about alleged discussions and agreements its US subsidiary had with Heritage Pharmaceuticals in relation to sales of a product called “Doxy DR”, which were or could be regarded as anti-competitive and contrary to US law, and that subpoenas had been issued by US regulators; and
- engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct during the Claim Period by maintaining public representations that Mayne was compliant with competition law, had appropriate systems for ensuring compliance, and was not exposed to the risk of reputational, financial or other impacts in the US for non-compliance with competition law
The Mayne Pharma Class Action alleged that investors who acquired an interest in fully paid ordinary shares during the Claim Period are entitled to compensation for loss and damage as they paid more for those shares than they would have paid as a consequence of Mayne Pharma’s conduct. The Mayne Pharma Class Action also alleged that some group members would not have purchased Mayne Pharma shares if Mayne Pharma had complied with its obligations.