American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Pfizer has agreed to pay $93 million in a settlement in the antitrust claims by wholesale drug distributors.
The lawsuit was initiated against Pfizer alleging the company for conspiring with India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories to delay the less expensive generic version of the anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Usually, pharma companies spend millions of dollars on research and discover new molecules.
As per WTO agreements, the new drugs are priced high for a period of time to recover the costs.
However, after a passage of time, the drugs are free to be made by any pharma enterprise, and these drugs, which are labeled as generics, are much cheaper.
Pfizer was indicted for conspiring with Indian Pharma Company Ranbaxy to delay the launch of the generic version of Lipitor in a lawsuit by Lipitor purchasers, including Rochester Drug Co-Operative Inc and Puerto Rico’s Drogueria Betances LLC.
Now Pfizer has agreed to pay $93 million to settle the lawsuit, and this information was disclosed by the plaintiffs in a filing on Wednesday in U.S. court in Trenton, New Jersey.
The agreement will have to be approved by a court before it can become effective.
However, the case will continue against Ranbaxy, another pharmaceutical company that produces generic drugs, the attorney’s filing said.
As per a statement issued by a spokesperson of Pfizer, it is “fair, reasonable and the best way to resolve this litigation.”
The lawsuit was being litigated for more than a decade, and Pfizer did not admit any liability.
Sun Pharma, which had purchased Ranbaxy, was not available for comment.
Lipitor, the anti-cholesterol drug, was introduced by Pfizer in 1997, and the drug sales touched $130 billion in sales during its first 14 years on the market.
The Pharma distributors accused Pfizer of extending its patent rights on Lipitor and also paid Ranbaxy to delay the launch of the generic version, which would have been much cheaper.
The latest settlement will bring much-needed relief for the common man.
The litigation has dragged on for a decade, and lawyers from the plaintiff are asking for about $31 million in legal fees from the settlement fund.
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