Wisconsin Department of Justice and Coalition Announce $400 Million Settlement in Principle With Sandoz Over Alleged Conspiracy to Inflate Prices and Limit Competition
The Settlement Will Result in Total Payments of Approximately $469 Million to Coalition by Sandoz
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of 43 states and territories are announcing a $400 million settlement in principle with Sandoz Inc. to resolve allegations that the generic drug manufacturer engaged in conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs.
“We will not stand for anticompetitive conduct that causes people to pay more for their prescriptions,” said AG Kaul. “We must keep cracking down on companies that, instead of competing fairly, restrict competition in order to increase prices.”
If approved, Sandoz Inc. will pay a total of approximately $469 million to settle the claims brought by the coalition, including amounts paid pursuant to previous settlements with other states. The settlement will also resolve allegations that Sandoz Inc.’s past and present international affiliates, Novartis AG, Sandoz AG, and Sandoz Group AG, participated in the alleged anticompetitive conduct and fraudulently transferred assets in order to avoid liability. As part of the settlement in principle, Sandoz has agreed to meaningful injunctive terms including a series of internal reforms to help ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws. This settlement is contingent upon obtaining signatures from all necessary states and territories and comes after the coalition had been preparing for an anticipated trial in 2027.
The coalition has also secured settlements in the same litigation with Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex, and Heritage, totaling approximately $96.5 million.
Today’s announced settlements follow Wisconsin previously joining a coalition of nearly all states and territories in a series of antitrust cases, starting first in 2016. The first complaint included Heritage and 17 other corporate defendants, two individual defendants, and 15 generic drugs. Two former executives from Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek, have since entered into settlement agreements and are cooperating. The second complaint was filed in 2019 against Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 generic drug manufacturers. The complaint names 16 individual defendants. The third complaint focuses on 80 topical generic drugs that account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States and names 26 corporate defendants and 10 individual defendants. Seven additional pharmaceutical executives have entered into settlement agreements with the states and territories and have been cooperating to support the remaining claims.
The cases all stem from a series of investigations built on evidence from several cooperating witnesses at the core of the different alleged conspiracies, a massive document database of over 20 million documents, and a phone records database containing millions of alleged call detail records and contact information for over 600 sales and pricing individuals in the generics industry.
Wisconsin DOJ is joined in securing this settlement in principle by the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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