Glenmark Settles Class Action Lawsuit in US Court for $87.5 Million
Glenmark Settles Class Action Lawsuit in US Court for $87.5 Million
The pharmaceutical company Glenmark is set to pay USD 87.5 million and has agreed to enter into a settlement with the three plaintiff groups who had filed a class action lawsuit against the company in the US Court related to the generic drug Zetia. The agreed amount is payable over two financial years.
The Trial for the case began on 19 April, 2023 in the US Court. The three plaintiff groups collectively representing all of the claims against the Company and Merck are referred to as the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs, the Retailer Plaintiffs, and the End-Payor Plaintiffs.
The Mumbai-based drug maker, Glenmark said that it has agreed to pay the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs USD 48 million, the Retailer Plaintiffs USD 25.5 million, and the End-Payor Plaintiffs USD 14 million in line with the individual agreements made with each of them respectively.
There were multiple antitrust and consumer protection lawsuits that the company has been involved in, including a class action, consolidated in the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. against the Company and its subsidiary Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., in connection with generic Zetia, a drug for the treatment of cholesterol.
The lawsuits accused that in 2010, Glenmark entered into an anticompetitive agreement to settle patent infringement litigation involving a patent related to ezetimibe (the active ingredient in Zetia) with Schering Corporation and MSP Singapore Company LLC.
The Company has been listed as a defendant along with Schering Corporation, MSP Singapore Company LLC, Merck & Co., Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation, (now known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC), and Schering-Plough Corporation in the antitrust and consumer protection litigation.
“With a view to resolve this dispute and avoid uncertainty, the company has agreed to enter settlements with all three plaintiff groups, for a total amount of USD 87.5 million payable over two financial years,” Glenmark added in its statement.
Glenmark said that the settlements aims to clarify that the company denies each and every one of the allegations against it and the settlements is not on the basis of the company having conceded or admitted any liability or illegality.
