In a major development in the sweeping multidistrict litigation over generic drug price-fixing, counsel for consumers, insurers, and end-payors urged a Pennsylvania federal court on Tuesday to finalize Sandoz’s $275 million settlement, while the drugmaker slammed state objections as an overreach cloaked in “paternalistic” motives.
The proposed settlement would resolve claims that Sandoz Inc. and its subsidiaries conspired with rival drugmakers to inflate prices of generic medications, burdening millions of consumers and insurers across the U.S.
A Record-Setting Settlement in the MDL
If approved, the $275 million fund would mark the largest settlement to date between a defendant and a plaintiff group in the massive generic pharmaceuticals antitrust MDL pending before U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe.
The deal, announced in December and preliminarily approved in February, would benefit consumers and payors across all 50 states who allegedly overpaid for Sandoz’s generic drugs from 2009 to 2019.
Excluded are government entities, fully compensated Medicaid users, and drug resellers.
