Glenmark Settles Class Action Lawsuit In US Court Related With Drug Zetia For $87.5 Mn

On Tuesday Glenmark Pharmaceuticals stated in an exchange filing that it has agreed to enter into a settlement with the three plaintiff groups who had filed a class action lawsuit against the company in the US court for a total amount of USD 87.5 million related to the generic drug Zetia. The agreed amount is payable over two financial years. 

Three plaintiff groups collectively representing all of the claims against the Company and Merck are referred to as the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs, the Retailer Plaintiffs, and the End-Payor Plaintiffs.

Glenmark said that it will pay an amount of USD 48 million to the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs, USD 25.5 million to the Retailer Plaintiffs, and USD 14 million to the End-Payor Plaintiffs, in accordance with the separate agreements entered into with each of them.

Glenmark stated that there are multiple antitrust and consumer protection lawsuits that the company is involved in, including a class action, consolidated in the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. against the Company and its subsidiary Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA, in connection with generic Zetia, a drug for the treatment of cholesterol.

The lawsuits allege that in 2010, Glenmark entered an anticompetitive agreement to settle patent infringement litigation involving a patent related to ezetimibe (the active ingredient in Zetia) with Schering Corporation and MSP Singapore Company LLC.

In the antitrust and consumer protection litigation, the Company is named as a defendant along with Schering Corporation, MSP Singapore Company LLC, Merck & Co., Inc., Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., now known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, and Schering-Plough Corp. The Company and Merck have disputed these claims and defended these matters vigorously. The trial for this case began on April 19, 2023, in the U.S. courts.

Glenmark said that the settlements will make clear that the company denies each and every one of the allegations against it and the settlements is not on the basis of the company having conceded or admitted any liability or illegality. 

Glenmark's stock was trading 0.24 per cent higher on Tuesday at Rs 518 per scrip on BSE as of 12:00 PM IST.