Sandoz will pay another $480m to settle US antitrust suits

Generic and biosimilar drugs group Sandoz has agreed to pay $450 million to settle litigation with 43 US states and other plaintiffs claiming that it carried out anti-competitive activities, including price-fixing.

According to a statement from the Switzerland-headquartered company, the deal would bring all US federal and state governmental claims in the antitrust lawsuit to a close, while a second deal – worth $28.5 million – would settle class-action litigation brought by indirect resellers of its medicines in the US, such as retail pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals.

Sandoz reiterated its position that the settlements do not contain any admission of wrongdoing by its US subsidiaries Sandoz Inc and Fougera Pharma, adding that the deals "underscore the company's commitment to integrity, sound governance and resolving allegations of legacy conduct."

Some elements of the deals still require approval by all of the litigating states and territories to be finalised. Assuming all goes through as agreed, the payments will be spread over seven years, starting in 2027, so there will be no impact on Sandoz's 2026 financial results.

Sandoz was formerly part of Novartis before spinning out as an independent company in October 2023, and its former parent previously settled two other antitrust lawsuits alleging price-fixing.

Novartis paid out $195 million in 2020 to settle a criminal claim brought by the federal government – at the time, the largest ever in a US antitrust case – which accused Sandoz and other generics companies of colluding to fix the price of various generic drugs. It also paid $185 million to resolve the civil portion of that complaint.

After it separated, in 2024, Sandoz paid a $265 million settlement to resolve similar accusations in Pennsylvania, once again without admitting any wrongdoing.

"Following the previously announced settlements with the US Department of Justice in 2020 and 2021, the direct purchaser plaintiffs' class in February 2024, and the end purchaser plaintiffs' class in December 2024, the announcement today by Sandoz US means that the company will have resolved all pending class actions in the US generic antitrust litigation, as well as all claims filed by any US federal or state government against the company," it said.

The only remaining claims are those brought by individual plaintiffs who opted out of class settlements, and Sandoz said it "continues to defend itself vigorously" in those lawsuits.