Teva Pharmaceuticals and Endo International will pay nearly $70 million to California to settle a lawsuit accusing them of striking agreements to delay generic drugs from entering the market, according to The Los Angeles Times. A third drugmaker, Teikoku Pharma, is subject to an injunction as part of the settlement.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that Teva illegally maintained a monopoly over the sales of narcolepsy drug Provigil by entering into "pay-for-delay" agreements with the brandname drugmaker. Under the agreement, Teva delayed the entry of its generic by almost six years.
While pay-for-delay agreements are not illegal, they can be used in ways that violate antitrust law, according to the report.
As part of the settlement, Teva will pay $69 million to the state. A portion of the settlement will be paid to California residents who purchased Provigil from 2006 to 2012. Additionally, Teva is under a 10-year injection that prevents it from entering into pay-for-delay deals.
At the same time, Teva, Endo and Teikoku Pharma allegedly struck pay-for-delay deals for Lidoderm, a medical patch to treat shingles pain, which delayed generics for almost two years. Under that settlement, Endo will pay $760,000 to the state of California and will enter an eight-year injunction preventing it from entering pay-for-delay agreements. Teikoku will be under a 20-year injunction.