Sun Pharma to pay $205m over generics price-fixing

A subsidiary of India’s  Sun Pharma has agreed to pay more than $200 million to settle charges related to a generics price-fixing investigation.

Prosecutors at the US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a two-felony charge against  Taro Pharmaceuticals at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania yesterday, July 23.

The DoJ said Taro had agreed to pay a $205 million criminal penalty, and admitted that sales of more than $500 million had been affected by the price-fixing conspiracy.

The charges relate to “numerous generic drugs”, including medications used to prevent and control seizures, treat bipolar disorder, pain and arthritis, as well as treatments for various skin conditions.

Sandoz, named as a co-conspirator of Taro, had already admitted to wrongdoing as part of a deferred prosecution agreement.

“Taro’s unlawful conspiracies to raise the prices of critical drugs robbed consumers at pharmacy counters across America,” said assistant attorney general Makan Delrahim, who heads up the DoJ’s antitrust division.

Delrahim added: “Today’s resolution marks another important step toward ensuring that competitively priced generic drugs are available to the millions of American consumers who rely on them.”Taro is the sixth company to be charged as part of the DoJ’s antitrust investigation into the generics market.

Five of the six charged, including Sandoz, have admitted to wrongdoing and collectively agreed to pay $426 million in criminal penalties.

A former Taro executive, Ara Aprahamian, was also indicted in February, and is currently awaiting trial.

There has been heightened focus on potential antitrust offences in the generics sector, at both federal and state level.

In addition to the federal DoJ investigation, a coalition of state attorneys general have sued drugmakers including Pfizer, Sandoz and Mylan over price-fixing charges, which they have denied.

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