Glenmark to pay $87.5 million to settle lawsuits over a product in US

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday it will pay $87.5 million to three plaintiff groups to settle multiple antitrust and consumer protection lawsuits in the US related to a generic drug.

There were multiple antitrust and consumer protection lawsuits, including a class action, consolidated in the Eastern District of Virginia against the company and its subsidiary Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. in connection with generic Zetia, a drug for the treatment of cholesterol, the Mumbai-based drug maker said in a regulatory filing.

The lawsuits alleged that in 2010, Glenmark entered 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 trial for the case began on April 19, 2023 in the US courts.

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, Glenmark said.

"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," it added.

Under these settlements, the company plans to pay USD 48 million to the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs, USD 25.5 million to the Retailer Plaintiffs and USD 14 million to the End-Payor Plaintiffs, in accordance with the separate agreements entered into with each of them, the drug maker said.

The settlements will make clear that the company denies each and every one of the allegations against it and the settlements are not on the basis of it having conceded or admitted any liability or illegality, it added.

Shares of Glenmark settled 0.31 per cent up at Rs 518.35 apiece on the BSE.