Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs Announce Settlements in In Re Generic Pharmaceutical Pricing Antitrust Litigation.
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PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--What is the lawsuit about? Two proposed settlements (the "Settlements") have been reached in a class action lawsuit ("the Lawsuit"), which alleges that Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. and its affiliates Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd., Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc., and URL Pharma, Inc., and Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. (collectively "Settling Defendants") violated the federal antitrust laws by conspiring with other generic drug manufacturers to fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and engage in market and customer allocations of certain generic drugs (the "Named Generic Drugs"), causing direct purchasers of the Named Generic Drugs to pay more than they should have. The Settling Defendants deny liability as alleged in the Lawsuit. The Court has not decided who is right. The proposed Settlements do not resolve any of the claims of the Settlement Class against the remaining Defendants. The Lawsuit against the remaining Defendants is ongoing.

Who is included? The Court certified a Settlement Class that includes all persons or entities, and their successors and assigns, that directly purchased one or more of the Named Generic Drugs from one or more Defendants in the United States and its territories and possessions, at any time during the period from May 1, 2009 through December 31, 2019. Excluded from the Settlement Class are Defendants and their present and former officers, directors, management, employees, subsidiaries, or affiliates, judicial officers and their personnel, and all governmental entities. The Settlement Agreements listing the Named Generic Drugs and Defendants are available on the settlement website: GenericDrugsDirectPurchaserSettlement.com. The Settlement Agreements also are on public file with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 in the case In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 2:16-MD-02724.

What do the Settlements provide? The proposed Settlements provide for the following payments by Settling Defendants: (1) $17,357,000 payment by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. and its affiliates Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd., Mutual Pharmaceutical Company, Inc., and URL Pharma, Inc. and (2) $67,643,000 payment by Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. These payments (collectively $85,000,000) will comprise the total "Settlement Fund." The Settlement Fund may be reduced by up to $10 million or increased to a maximum of $105 million under certain circumstances as explained in the Settlement Agreements. In addition, the attorneys who have worked on the Lawsuit for the Settlement Class will seek Court approval to pay expenses, attorneys' fees of up to one-third of the Settlement Fund, including interest, after expenses (and service awards) are deducted, and service awards for the class representatives (or named plaintiffs) out of the Settlement Fund. Any motion for expenses and service awards and to set aside one-third of the remaining Settlement Fund (plus accrued interest) for payment of attorneys' fees will be posted on the settlement website GenericDrugsDirectPurchaserSettlement.com once they are filed on August 9, 2022. Settlement Class Counsel will file a motion for an award of fees at a later appropriate time.

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The calculations of the dollar amount that each Settlement Class Member that submits a Claim Form will be paid from the Settlement Fund is set forth in the Plan of Allocation, which also is available on GenericDrugsDirectPurchaserSettlement.com.

What are your options? If you are a Settlement Class Member and you do nothing, you will remain in the Settlement Class and be eligible to participate in the Settlements as described in this notice, if the Settlements are approved. However, you will need to complete, sign, and return the Claim Form (once it is sent to you) in order to obtain a payment. It is anticipated that Defendants' sales data will be used to calculate Settlement Class Members' eligible purchases and pro rata share of the Net Settlement Fund, but if such data is not available from Defendants then you may be required to submit data showing your eligible purchases. We do not know when the Claim Forms will be mailed. You should check GenericDrugsDirectPurchaserSettlement.com for information regarding timing. If you did not receive a Notice in the mail, and you think you are a potential Settlement Class Member, please identify yourself or your company by letter to the following address: In re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation – Direct Purchasers, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173095, Milwaukee, WI 53217, or send an email to info@GenericDrugsDirectPurchaserSettlement.com, or call 877-315-0583. You may be required to submit proof of a qualifying purchase to establish that you are a member of the Settlement Class. Claimants may also be required to submit purchase data as part of the claims process. As a Settlement Class Member, unless you opt out of the Settlements, you will be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court.

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In addition, you may request exclusion from (or opt out of) the Settlements and may object to the Settlements if you do not opt out. Instructions for opting out or objecting can be found in the publicly-available case file and website, as described above. You must mail your request to opt out or your objection by September 23, 2022. The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on December 13, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. EST to decide whether to approve the Settlements and any requests for fees, expenses, and service awards for the class representatives. The Court will also consider a Plan of Allocation for distributing the Settlement Fund to Settlement Class Members. If there are objections, the Court will consider them at the hearing. You do not need to attend the hearing. If you wish to appear at the hearing, you must file a "Notice of Intention to Appear" with the Court and you may hire your own attorney to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

For more information: Go to the website: GenericDrugsDirectPurchaserSettlement.com or call 877-315-0583 for more information on the Settlements, the Lawsuit, and your potential rights and options related to the Settlements. The website includes, for example, a list of the generic drugs that you would have had to purchase and a list of the generic drug manufacturers that you would have had to purchase directly from in order to be eligible for a payment.

Contacts

Dianne M. Nast, Esq.
Joseph N. Roda, Esq.
(215) 923-9300
Filed Under: Business
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