Indian pharma major Ranbaxy and Israel-based Teva have agreed to pay $300,000 and settle allegations levelled by New York state that the rival generic drug makers made an unlawful agreement to restrict competition on the sale of several generic medicines, including lipitor.
The companies have entered into a settlement with the New York Attorney General to resolve the concerns. The firms neither admitted nor denied the allegations, as part of the settlement. They also agreed to refrain from entering into similar agreements in the future.
Ranbaxy, controlled by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co, and Teva’s US unit will pay New York state $300,000 and terminate a 2010 agreement not to challenge each other’s rights to sell certain generic drugs exclusively in the US.
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman revealed the “collusive” agreement on Wednesday under which each of the generic drug firms committed not to challenge certain regulatory exclusivities held by the other.
They also committed to protect each party’s market positions with respect to dozens of drugs and reduced the risk that each would face greater competition for its generic drugs.
“Agreements between drug manufacturers to protect each other’s market positions violate fundamental principles of antitrust law, and can lead to higher drug prices,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
The collusive “no challenge” agreement was part of a 2010 agreement entered into by them relating to the sale of a single drug – generic atorvastatin calcium, the branded version of which is sold by Pfizer as lipitor.