Pfizer, AstraZeneca and others ask US Supreme Court to bar Iraq terrorism funding claims

More than 20 U.S. and European pharmaceutical and medical-device makers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to bar claims that the companies helped to fund terrorism that killed or injured hundreds of American service members during the war in Iraq.

The companies, part of five corporate families — AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Pfizer (PFE.N), GE Healthcare USA, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and F. Hoffmann-La Roche — are challenging a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The petition at the high court was added on Wednesday to the court’s public docket.

The D.C. Circuit order from last year at the center of the case reinstated a lawsuit alleging that 21 U.S. and European medical equipment and pharmaceutical companies made corrupt payments to the Hezbollah-sponsored militia group Jaysh al-Mahdi in order to obtain medical-supply contracts. The plaintiffs’ complaint said Jaysh al-Mahdi controlled Iraq’s health ministry.

Read more: Reuters