by Elena Vardon and Helena Smolak, Dec. 17, 2024 | From: The Wall Street Journal

Sandoz Group said it would pay $275 million to settle claims from some plaintiffs in a generics drug pricing antitrust lawsuit in the U.S.

The Swiss generics-medicine company said Tuesday that it reached an agreement with end-payer plaintiffs, which follows previous settlements with the U.S. Justice Department in 2020 and 2021 and with direct-purchaser plaintiffs in February.

Sandoz still faces outstanding claims brought by opt-out plaintiffs and state attorneys general and set aside $265 million to cover potential additional costs. The company said it continues to defend itself vigorously in those cases.

The case stems from allegations of price fixing of generic drugs in the U.S. The settlement includes the release of claims over alleged practices between 2009 and 2019 and contains no admission of wrongdoing by Sandoz US, the company said.

Sandoz said the settlement resolves all damages claims from a class of plaintiffs that comprises certain consumers, insurers, health and welfare funds, employee-benefit plans, and other entities that paid for and reimbursed the sales of drugs. Its amount could be reduced by up to $45 million if plaintiffs choose to opt out, the company said.

Representatives for the plaintiffs weren’t immediately available to comment.

The settlement will be paid by the end of the year, subject to court approval, and won’t affect Sandoz’s guidance for 2024 and the medium term, the company said.

The Basel-based group said the remaining U.S. claims seek damages for alleged anticompetitive conduct. In addition, Sandoz subsidiaries have been named in a Canadian lawsuit over alleged price-fixing in the generic drug market, which the company contests.

The settlement helps to resolve Sandoz’s past legal issues and allows it to focus on its new product launches for next year, Vontobel analyst Stefan Schneider said in a research note.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com and Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com