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Mumbai, March 24
Drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and one of its US-based subsidiaries, Ranbaxy Inc, have entered a $485-million (about ₹3,700-crore) settlement with two plaintiff groups in an ongoing antitrust litigation.
The company and Ranbaxy Inc have signed a binding term sheet with “the Direct Purchaser and End-Payor Plaintiffs, collectively resolving all of the claims against the Company, in the matter... Ranbaxy Generic Drug Application Antitrust Litigation that has been ongoing in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts (USA) for several years,” Sun Pharma told the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday. The company’s stock remained unmoved by the development at ₹899, down 0.17 per cent, on BSE at 10.36 am.
Outlining the details, Sun Pharma said the antitrust litigation included multiple antitrust, consumer protection, and civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) class actions consolidated in the district of Massachusetts, (USA) against the company. They involved three drugs — generic diovan (for hypertension treatment); generic nexium (treatment of gastroesophageal refluxdisease and peptic ulcers); and generic valcyte (to treat cytomegalovirus disease).
Pre-acquisition
“The actions/ claims relate to alleged conduct by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd and its US subsidiary prior to its acquisition by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd,” Sun Pharma clarified.
The company had disputed the claims of the plaintiffs and defended “vigorously”, it said, adding, “With a view to resolve this dispute and avoid uncertainty, the Company has agreed to enter a comprehensive settlement with these plaintiff groups for a total settlement amount of US$485 million.
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Surge in audit inspections could be periodic or could also be linked to evolving standards in manufacturing“As a consequence of the Binding Term Sheet, the Company shall execute the necessary settlement agreements, which, upon approval by the US Court, will ensure that all allegations against the Company, which it has denied, not conceded and not admitted, do not survive and stand extinguished,” the note said.
Delhi-based Ranbaxy, once a poster boy of the pharma industry, had been sold twice over. First to Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo, in 2008, for $4.6 billion, which, in turn, sold it to Sun Pharma for $4 billion in 2014.
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