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Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Contingencies | Contingencies The Company is involved in various claims and legal proceedings of a nature considered normal to its business, including product liability, intellectual property, and commercial litigation, as well as certain additional matters including governmental and environmental matters. In the opinion of the Company, it is unlikely that the resolution of these matters will be material to the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Given the nature of the litigation discussed below and the complexities involved in these matters, the Company is unable to reasonably estimate a possible loss or range of possible loss for such matters until the Company knows, among other factors, (i) what claims, if any, will survive dispositive motion practice, (ii) the extent of the claims, including the size of any potential class, particularly when damages are not specified or are indeterminate, (iii) how the discovery process will affect the litigation, (iv) the settlement posture of the other parties to the litigation and (v) any other factors that may have a material effect on the litigation. The Company records accruals for contingencies when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are adjusted periodically as assessments change or additional information becomes available. For product liability claims, a portion of the overall accrual is actuarially determined and considers such factors as past experience, number of claims reported and estimates of claims incurred but not yet reported. Individually significant contingent losses are accrued when probable and reasonably estimable. Legal defense costs expected to be incurred in connection with a loss contingency are accrued when probable and reasonably estimable. The Company’s decision to obtain insurance coverage is dependent on market conditions, including cost and availability, existing at the time such decisions are made. The Company has evaluated its risks and has determined that the cost of obtaining product liability insurance outweighs the likely benefits of the coverage that is available and, as such, has no insurance for most product liabilities. Product Liability Litigation Fosamax As previously disclosed, Merck is a defendant in product liability lawsuits in the United States involving Fosamax (Fosamax Litigation). As of March 31, 2020, approximately 3,590 cases are pending against Merck in either federal or state court. Plaintiffs in the vast majority of these cases generally allege that they sustained femur fractures and/or other bone injuries (Femur Fractures) in association with the use of Fosamax. All federal cases involving allegations of Femur Fractures have been or will be transferred to a multidistrict litigation in the District of New Jersey (Femur Fracture MDL). In the only bellwether case tried to date in the Femur Fracture MDL, Glynn v. Merck, the jury returned a verdict in Merck’s favor. In addition, in June 2013, the Femur Fracture MDL court granted Merck’s motion for judgment as a matter of law in the Glynn case and held that the plaintiff’s failure to warn claim was preempted by federal law. In August 2013, the Femur Fracture MDL court entered an order requiring plaintiffs in the Femur Fracture MDL to show cause why those cases asserting claims for a femur fracture injury that took place prior to September 14, 2010, should not be dismissed based on the court’s preemption decision in the Glynn case. Pursuant to the show cause order, in March 2014, the Femur Fracture MDL court dismissed with prejudice approximately 650 cases on preemption grounds. Plaintiffs in approximately 515 of those cases appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Third Circuit). In March 2017, the Third Circuit issued a decision reversing the Femur Fracture MDL court’s preemption ruling and remanding the appealed cases back to the Femur Fracture MDL court. In May 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the Third Circuit had incorrectly concluded that the issue of preemption should be resolved by a jury, and accordingly vacated the judgment of the Third Circuit and remanded the proceedings back to the Third Circuit to address the issue in a manner consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion. In November 2019, the Third Circuit remanded the cases back to the District Court in order to allow that court to determine in the first instance whether the plaintiffs’ state law claims are preempted by federal law under the standards described by the Supreme Court in its opinion. Merck filed its initial brief on February 21, 2020, as required by the District Court. Accordingly, as of March 31, 2020, approximately 970 cases were actively pending in the Femur Fracture MDL. As of March 31, 2020, approximately 2,345 cases alleging Femur Fractures have been filed in New Jersey state court and are pending before Judge James Hyland in Middlesex County. The parties selected an initial group of cases to be reviewed through fact discovery, and Merck has continued to select additional cases to be reviewed. As of March 31, 2020, approximately 275 cases alleging Femur Fractures have been filed and are pending in California state court. All of the Femur Fracture cases filed in California state court have been coordinated before a single judge in Orange County, California. Additionally, there are four Femur Fracture cases pending in other state courts. Discovery is presently stayed in the Femur Fracture MDL and in the state court in California. Merck intends to defend against these lawsuits. Januvia/Janumet As previously disclosed, Merck is a defendant in product liability lawsuits in the United States involving Januvia and/or Janumet. As of March 31, 2020, Merck is aware of approximately 1,410 product users alleging that Januvia and/or Janumet caused the development of pancreatic cancer and other injuries. Most claims have been filed in multidistrict litigation before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (MDL). Outside of the MDL, the majority of claims have been filed in coordinated proceedings before the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (California State Court). In November 2015, the MDL and California State Court–in separate opinions–granted summary judgment to defendants on grounds of federal preemption. Plaintiffs appealed in both forums. In November 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the judgment and remanded for further discovery. In November 2018, the California state appellate court reversed and remanded on similar grounds. In March 2019, the parties in the MDL and the California coordinated proceeding agreed to coordinate and adopt a schedule for completing discovery on general causation and preemption issues and for renewing summary judgment and Daubert motions. Under the stipulated case management schedule, the hearings for Daubert and summary judgment motions are expected to take place in the second half of 2020. As of March 31, 2020, six product users have claims pending against Merck in state courts other than California, including Illinois. In June 2017, the Illinois trial court denied Merck’s motion for summary judgment based on federal preemption. Merck appealed, and the Illinois appellate court affirmed in December 2018. Merck filed a petition for leave to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court in February 2019. In April 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court stayed consideration of the pending petition to appeal until the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht (relating to the Fosamax matter discussed above). Merck filed the opinion in Albrecht with the Illinois Supreme Court in June 2019. The petition for leave to appeal was decided in September 2019, in which the Illinois Supreme Court directed the intermediate appellate court to reconsider its earlier ruling. The Illinois Appellate Court issued a favorable decision concluding, consistent with Albrecht, that preemption presents a legal question to be resolved by the court. In addition to the claims noted above, the Company has agreed to toll the statute of limitations for approximately 50 additional claims. The Company intends to continue defending against these lawsuits. Vioxx As previously disclosed, Merck is a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of Utah alleging that Merck misrepresented the safety of Vioxx. The lawsuit is pending in Utah state court. Utah seeks damages and penalties under the Utah False Claims Act. A bench trial in this matter has been rescheduled for April 6, 2021. Governmental Proceedings As previously disclosed, in April 2019, Merck received a set of investigative interrogatories from the California Attorney General’s Office pursuant to its investigation of conduct and agreements that allegedly affected or delayed competition to Lantus in the insulin market. The interrogatories seek information concerning Merck’s development of an insulin glargine product, and its subsequent termination, as well as Merck’s patent litigation against Sanofi S.A. concerning Lantus and the resolution of that litigation. In February 2020, Merck received a subpoena for documents. Merck is cooperating with the California Attorney General’s investigation. As previously disclosed, the Company’s subsidiaries in China have received and may continue to receive inquiries regarding their operations from various Chinese governmental agencies. Some of these inquiries may be related to matters involving other multinational pharmaceutical companies, as well as Chinese entities doing business with such companies. The Company’s policy is to cooperate with these authorities and to provide responses as appropriate. As previously disclosed, from time to time, the Company receives inquiries and is the subject of preliminary investigation activities from competition and other governmental authorities in markets outside the United States. These authorities may include regulators, administrative authorities, and law enforcement and other similar officials, and these preliminary investigation activities may include site visits, formal or informal requests or demands for documents or materials, inquiries or interviews and similar matters. Certain of these preliminary inquiries or activities may lead to the commencement of formal proceedings. Should those proceedings be determined adversely to the Company, monetary fines and/or remedial undertakings may be required. Commercial and Other Litigation Zetia Antitrust Litigation As previously disclosed, Merck, MSD, Schering Corporation and MSP Singapore Company LLC (collectively, the Merck Defendants) are defendants in putative class action and opt-out lawsuits filed in 2018 on behalf of direct and indirect purchasers of Zetia alleging violations of federal and state antitrust laws, as well as other state statutory and common law causes of action. The cases have been consolidated for pretrial purposes in a federal multidistrict litigation before Judge Rebecca Beach Smith in the Eastern District of Virginia. In December 2018, the court denied the Merck Defendants’ motions to dismiss or stay the direct purchaser putative class actions pending bilateral arbitration. In August 2019, the district court adopted in full the report and recommendation of the magistrate judge with respect to the Merck Defendants’ motions to dismiss on non-arbitration issues, thereby granting in part and denying in part Merck Defendants’ motions to dismiss. In addition, in June 2019, the representatives of the putative direct purchaser class filed an amended complaint, and in August 2019, retailer opt-out plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. The Merck Defendants moved to dismiss the new allegations in both complaints. In October 2019, the magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation recommending that the district judge grant the motions in their entirety. In December 2019, the district court adopted this report and recommendation in part. The district court granted the Merck Defendants’ motion to dismiss to the extent the motion sought dismissal of claims for overcharges paid by entities that purchased generic ezetimibe from Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Par Pharmaceutical) and dismissed any claims for such overcharges. Trial in this matter has been rescheduled to begin on February 23, 2021. Bravecto Litigation In January 2020, the Company was served with a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, seeking to certify a nationwide class action of purchasers or users of Bravecto (fluralaner) products in the United States or its territories between May 1, 2014 and December 27, 2019. The complaint contends Bravecto causes neurological events and alleges violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, Breach of Warranty, Product Liability, and related theories. A similar case was filed in Quebec, Canada in May 2019. Patent Litigation From time to time, generic manufacturers of pharmaceutical products file abbreviated New Drug Applications (NDAs) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to market generic forms of the Company’s products prior to the expiration of relevant patents owned by the Company. To protect its patent rights, the Company may file patent infringement lawsuits against such generic companies. Similar lawsuits defending the Company’s patent rights may exist in other countries. The Company intends to vigorously defend its patents, which it believes are valid, against infringement by companies attempting to market products prior to the expiration of such patents. As with any litigation, there can be no assurance of the outcomes, which, if adverse, could result in significantly shortened periods of exclusivity for these products and, with respect to products acquired through acquisitions, potentially significant intangible asset impairment charges. Bridion — Between January and March 2020, the Company received multiple Paragraph IV Certification Letters under the Hatch-Waxman Act notifying the Company that generic drug companies have filed applications to the FDA seeking pre-patent expiry approval to sell generic versions of Bridion (sugammadex) Injection. In March and April 2020, the Company filed patent infringement lawsuits in the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Northern District of West Virginia against those generic companies. These lawsuits, which assert one or more patents covering sugammadex and methods of using sugammadex, automatically stay FDA approval of the generic applications until June 2023 or until adverse court decisions, if any, whichever may occur earlier. No schedule for the cases has been set by the courts. Januvia, Janumet, Janumet XR — In February 2019, Par Pharmaceutical filed suit against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, seeking a declaratory judgment of invalidity of a patent owned by the Company covering certain salt and polymorphic forms of sitagliptin that expires in 2026. In response, the Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Par Pharmaceutical and additional companies that also indicated an intent to market generic versions of Januvia, Janumet, and Janumet XR following expiration of key patent protection in 2022, but prior to the expiration of the later-granted patent owned by the Company covering certain salt and polymorphic forms of sitagliptin that expires in 2026, and a later granted patent owned by the Company covering the Janumet formulation which expires in 2028. Par Pharmaceutical dismissed its case in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against the Company and will litigate the action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Mylan Inc. (Mylan) in the Northern District of West Virginia. The Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation entered an order transferring the Company’s lawsuit against Mylan to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware for coordinated and consolidated pretrial proceedings with the other cases pending in that district. In February 2020, the Company amended its complaint against one defendant, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., to add patent infringement claims related to a patent that expires in 2025 and covers certain processes for manufacturing sitagliptin. The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has scheduled the lawsuits for a single 3-day trial on invalidity issues in October 2021. The Court will schedule separate 1-day trials on infringement issues if necessary. In the Company’s case against Mylan, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia has conditionally scheduled a three-day trial in December 2021 on all issues. The Company has settled with three generic companies such that these generic companies can bring their products to the market in November 2026 or earlier under certain circumstances. In October 2019, Mylan filed a petition for Inter Partes Review (IPR) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeking invalidity of the 2026 patent. The Company filed a Patent Owner Preliminary Response in the IPR proceeding in February 2020. The Company expects the USPTO to determine whether it will institute the IPR proceeding in May 2020. In Germany, a generic company has sought the revocation of the Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) for Janumet. If the generic company is successful, Janumet could lose market exclusivity in Germany as early as July 2022. It is possible that challenges to the Janumet SPC could occur in other European countries. Other Litigation There are various other pending legal proceedings involving the Company, principally product liability and intellectual property lawsuits. While it is not feasible to predict the outcome of such proceedings, in the opinion of the Company, either the likelihood of loss is remote or any reasonably possible loss associated with the resolution of such proceedings is not expected to be material to the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows either individually or in the aggregate. Legal Defense Reserves Legal defense costs expected to be incurred in connection with a loss contingency are accrued when probable and reasonably estimable. Some of the significant factors considered in the review of these legal defense reserves are as follows: the actual costs incurred by the Company; the development of the Company’s legal defense strategy and structure in light of the scope of its litigation; the number of cases being brought against the Company; the costs and outcomes of completed trials and the most current information regarding anticipated timing, progression, and related costs of pre-trial activities and trials in the associated litigation. The amount of legal defense reserves as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 of approximately $255 million and $240 million, respectively, represents the Company’s best estimate of the minimum amount of defense costs to be incurred in connection with its outstanding litigation; however, events such as additional trials and other events that could arise in the course of its litigation could affect the ultimate amount of legal defense costs to be incurred by the Company. The Company will continue to monitor its legal defense costs and review the adequacy of the associated reserves and may determine to increase the reserves at any time in the future if, based upon the factors set forth, it believes it would be appropriate to do so.

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