Humana to omit Teva’s Israeli ties in U.S. drug trial

Health insurer Humana has agreed to refrain from referencing drugmaker Teva’s Israeli national origin during an upcoming U.S. drug price-fixing trial in Philadelphia. The agreement follows a request from Teva, which argued that public sentiment regarding the war in Gaza could unfairly prejudice jurors in the antitrust proceeding.

Teva and several other pharmaceutical companies are scheduled to stand trial starting September 15 on allegations of conspiring to artificially inflate the prices of generic drugs, including the blood pressure medication propranolol and the muscle relaxant baclofen. While Humana’s lawyers will not make specific references to Teva being an Israeli company during arguments or questioning, the agreement does not prevent the introduction of documents that may inherently reveal the company’s origin.

Teva has denied the allegations of price-fixing, and the legal claims are directed at its U.S.-based subsidiary.