AbbVie Files Lawsuit Against Alternate Funding Company Payer Matrix Alleging ‘Fraudulent and Deceptive Scheme’

Issues around so-called alternate funding companies that carve out specialty drugs have existed for several years now, but only recently has a manufacturer taken legal action against such a company. On May 5, AbbVie Inc. filed a lawsuit (1:23-cv-02836) against Payer Matrix, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division over its “fraudulent and deceptive scheme to enrich itself by exploiting AbbVie’s PAP [patient assistance program] through the enrollment of insured patients into a charitable program not intended for them.”

AbbVie states that it is “bring[ing] this action to stop Payer Matrix’s harmful conduct and protect its program so it can continue to serve its intended purpose — providing free drugs to uninsured and underinsured patients who otherwise could not afford their AbbVie medicine.”