Member
Mr. Des Roches’ legal career has been closely tied to the application of the antitrust laws to the pharmaceutical industry since the early 1990’s. This body of work includes being on the team that litigated the first Hatch-Waxman “reverse payment” antitrust cases on behalf of direct purchasers against makers of branded and generic pharmaceutical drug products. Since that time, Mr. Des Roches has dedicated a substantial portion of his career to this area of competition law in the hope of ensuring that the pharmaceutical marketplace is one of full and fair competition between makers of branded and generic drugs to drive innovation and competitive prices as contemplated by the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984 and the Antitrust Laws. In addition to the early and more recent “reverse payment” cases, Mr. Des Roches has also been involved in challenging several additional practices in the pharmaceutical industry that improperly delay or impede the market entry of less-expensive generic versions of brand name drugs, such as the filing of sham citizen petitions with the FDA, the filing of sham patent lawsuits in federal courts, and product hopping by branded companies. For these efforts, Mr. Des Roches is a three-time recipient of the American Antitrust Institute’s private practice litigation award: 2017 for In re KDur; 2017 for In re Modafinil; and 2020 for In re Namenda.
Many of these cases have been litigated up to the “courthouse steps” or into trial prior to resolution, while others continue to be litigated. Mr. Des Roches served as the lead trial lawyer for the class of direct purchasers in In re Tricor Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litigation, which resulted in the largest settlement at that time of a Hatch-Waxman antitrust case ($250,000,000) after commencement of trial. In addition, other notable cases in which Mr. Des Roches has been involved include: In re Namenda ($750,000,000 recovery); In re Modafinil (settlements totaling more than $760,000,000); In re Suboxone ($385,000,000 recovery); In re Neurontin ($190,000,000 recovery); In re Buspirone ($220,000,000 recovery); In re Relafen ($175,000,000 recovery); In re Aggrenox ($146,000,000 recovery); In re Cardizem CD ($110,000,000 recovery); In re Prograf ($98,000,000 recovery); In re Remeron ($75,000,000 recovery); In re Terazosin Hydrochloride ($72,500,000 recovery); In re KDur ($60,000,000 recovery).
Notable on-going pharmaceutical antitrust cases include: In re AndroGel; In re Lamictal; In re: Epipen; In re Niapsan.
Mr. Des Roches has also been involved in applying the antitrust laws to other aspects of the healthcare industry. He served as trial counsel with the firm’s member Mr. Kelly in Natchitoches Parish Hospital Service District, et al. v. Tyco Healthcare, et al., which settled for $32,500,000 several weeks into trial.
Born, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 12, 1966. Admitted to numerous United States District Courts and Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. University of New Orleans (B.A., 1989), and Tulane University School of Law (J.D., 1992). Member, New Orleans, Louisiana, and American Bar Associations, and the United States Supreme Court Historical Society.