Impax Laboratories Inc. agreed to pay $35 million to settle certain claims under an antitrust lawsuit related to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.'s acne medication Solodyn, Reuters reported.
Plaintiffs allege that Valeant unit Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. paid generic-drug makers to delay the launch of their lower-cost versions of Solodyn, violating state competition and unjust enrichment laws. A previous court ruling found consumers and insurers were overcharged by up to $790.3 million as result.
The case includes multiple claims against Impax, its fellow generic-drug makers Sandoz Inc., a unit of Novartis AG, Lupin Ltd. and its unit Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc., as well as Medicis.
The $35 million settlement is for direct purchasers' claims, according to papers filed in a Boston federal court. Impax did not admit liability as part of the settlement. The remaining claims from consumers, third-party insurers and individual retailers are set to go to trial March 12.
According to the plaintiffs, Impax received $40 million plus $23 million in "milestone" payments from Medicis after it agreed to stop its legal efforts to invalidate a Solodyn patent. Plaintiffs also alleged that while Impax received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in February 2009 to market its generic version of Solodyn, it did not do so until November 2011.
Sandoz and Lupin previously agreed to pay $6.72 million to resolve claims over their own "pay-for-delay" deals with Medicis, according to Reuters.
