Sandoz to pay almost $500 million to settle lawsuits in the US

Sandoz, based in Basel, has agreed to pay around $500 million, equivalent to 405 million Swiss francs at the current exchange rate, to settle a series of disputes in the United States. The proceedings concern the company’s pricing practices and include lawsuits brought by individual states and class actions.

The agreement does not end individual claims filed by people or entities that chose not to join the class actions.

Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals will pay $400 million over seven years. The payments will begin next year. In return, 43 US states and territories will waive further legal action related to the case.

Around $50 million will be added to this amount for states that had already reached an agreement with Sandoz on the same case. A group of intermediaries will also receive a total of $28.5 million. This payment is also linked to the waiver of legal proceedings.

Sandoz, the world’s largest generic drugmaker, said it had already made provisions in anticipation of the disputes being settled. According to the company, the payments provided for under the agreement will therefore have no effect on the group’s future results in the short or medium term.

The agreement concerns the multinational’s US operating companies. The case is part of the legal action brought in the United States over the pricing terms applied in the generic medicines sector.