NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - Bristol Myers Squibb ( BMY )

won the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing it

of fraudulently obtaining patents and filing sham patent

lawsuits to maintain an illegal monopoly on its blockbuster

blood cancer drug Pomalyst, keeping cheaper generic versions off

the market.

In a 70-page decision made public on Tuesday, U.S. District

Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan said the health insurer Blue

Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana and other Pomalyst purchasers

failed to show that Bristol Myers and the former Celgene Corp

violated the federal Sherman antitrust law.

Ramos said the plaintiff purchasers failed to establish

fraud in the procurement of six patents related to Pomalyst.

He also said they failed to show how nine lawsuits that

Celgene filed between 2017 and 2020 against generic drug

producers such as Teva and Mylan were

"objectively baseless" and led to fraudulent settlements.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

The plaintiffs claimed they were overcharged for Pomalyst

since at least October 2020, when generic versions of the

multiple myeloma treatment allegedly could have been launched

but for the defendants' alleged illegal scheme.

Pomalyst sales totaled $3.55 billion in 2024, or about 7.3%

of Bristol Myers' $48.3 billion of overall revenue.

The drug was developed by Celgene, which Bristol Myers

bought in 2019. Bristol Myers is based in Princeton, New Jersey.

The case is Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Co et al v

Celgene Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of

New York, No. 23-07871.