Sun Pharma, Taro Pharmaceutical reach $75M settlement agreement in alleged price fixing scheme
The Indian multinational drugmaker Sun Pharma, alongside Israel’s Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, is cashing out tens of millions to settle a lawsuit in a US federal court.
In a motion dated Thursday, federal judge Cynthia M. Rufe out of Pennsylvania’s eastern district signed off on a settlement that would resolve antitrust litigation involving Sun Pharma and Taro Pharmaceuticals. The eight-page order detailed that the value was set for $75 million, with the chance for another $20 million to be added based on specific clauses in the settlement agreement.
According to the filing, a hearing was held Mar. 8 in order to determine whether proposed class-action settlements would be “fair, reasonable and adequate.” And according to the judge, the settlements met those criteria.
From the filing:
Preliminarily, the Court finds that Sun and Taro caused timely notice of the settlements and related materials to be sent to the Attorney General of the United States and the Attorneys General of all U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”). The Court finds that such notification complies fully with the applicable requirements of CAFA.
As far as federal filings indicate, the case — In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation — involved accusations that Sun and Taro, among others, allegedly took part in a scheme to fix generic drug prices. In Re is a legal definition in the US that means a case does not formally name the opposing parties in a lawsuit.
The massive dispute, which kicked off in 2016 and has almost 2,400 entries in the US government’s PACER website, has plaintiffs including more than a dozen counties and five state governments: Pennsylvania, California, South Carolina, Arkansas and Maryland.
Sun Pharma did not immediately respond to a query from Endpoints News.
It’s not Sun Pharma’s first time having to pay out a settlement. Last year, its generic unit Ranbaxy was accused of scheming to get ahead of rivals — making generic versions of Genentech, Novartis and Pfizer drugs, and securing 180 days of exclusivity on the US market. Sun paid $485 million to settle the suit, without admitting to the charges.