On April 28, 2022 U.S. District Court Judge Nathanial M. Gorton in the District of Massachusetts preliminarily approved one of the largest pharmaceutical antitrust settlements ever recovered on behalf of classes of end-payors. The proposed settlement provides for the payment of $145 million to resolve the End-Payor Classes’ claims against generic drug maker Ranbaxy. The End-Payor Classes consist of third-party payors, such as health plans and self-insured health and welfare funds, that pay for or provide reimbursement for prescription drugs.
In the multidistrict litigation In Re Ranbaxy Generic Drug Application Antitrust Litigation, the End-Payor Classes alleged that Ranbaxy engaged in a scheme, in violation of state antitrust, state consumer protection, and federal racketeering laws, involving misrepresentations to the FDA in connection with pursuing tentative approvals for abbreviated new drug applications, which resulted in delayed market launch of generic versions of the antiviral drug Valcyte, the high blood pressure drug Diovan, and the reflux medication Nexium. The End-Payor Classes alleged that as a result of the scheme they paid or reimbursed for the at-issue drugs at prices that were higher than they would have otherwise been.
The settlement was struck just two weeks before trial, and after the classes overcame Ranbaxy’s motions to dismiss, won class certification, and defeated Ranbaxy’s motion for summary judgment. Lowey Dannenberg’s Gerald Lawrence (glawrence@lowey.com), Renee Nolan (rnolan@lowey.com) and Will Olson (wolson@lowey.com) represent Plaintiff United Food and Commercial Workers Health and Welfare Fund of Northeastern Pennsylvania and are co-lead class counsel for the End-Payor Classes.
More information about the settlement may be found on the settlement website: www.RanbaxyTPPLitigation.com