By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) has filed a lawsuit against drug distributors and a pharmacy seeking to stop the sale of counterfeit versions of its HIV drugs, months after a similar case brought by Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:).

In a complaint filed April 7 and made public on Tuesday, J&J said it had learned of widespread counterfeiting through complaints from patients who received the wrong pills in their prescription bottle, and from the voluntary return of hundreds of bottles of counterfeit drugs from one of the defendants, distributor ProPharma Distribution LLC.

The company also said that distribution of counterfeit versions of its HIV pills had come to light through Gilead’s lawsuit https://www.reuters.com/article/gilead-sciences-hiv-idCNL4N2TY48H, filed in January. Symtuza is a multi-drug combination therapy that includes Prezcobix and Prezista, along with Edurant.

J&J said counterfeit bottles sometimes contained a different HIV drug than what was on the label, and in one case contained the powerful antipsychotic drug Seroquel.

ProPharma was not alone among the defendants. Safe Chain Solutions LLC and Scripts Wholesale Inc were also named as distributors. I Care Pharmacy 14 is the pharmacy operator. The individual business owners are also listed as defendants. J&J is seeking a court order blocking further counterfeit sales and at least $25 million in damages from each defendant.

The lawsuit claims that I Care Pharmacy owned a New York City brick-and-mortar shop. It was shut down abruptly after a fake sale was made.

J&J said it believed the pharmacy was connected to “a criminal counterfeiting ring that continues to actively dispense dangerous counterfeit HIV medication in New York City.”

Scripts’ lawyer declined to comment. It was not possible to reach the lawyers of other defendants immediately.