Pharmaceutical company Sandoz to pay $195 million to resolve price-fixing, bid-rigging charges
WASHINGTON–Generic drug maker Sandoz Inc. reached a $195 million settlement with the Justice Department on Monday to resolve criminal charges accusing the New Jersey company in a price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy from 2013 to 2015.
The deal settles a four-count indictment filed in Philadelphia and requires the company to cooperate in a continuing federal investigation.
"Today’s resolution with one of the largest manufacturers of generic drugs is a significant step toward ensuring that prices ... are set by competition, not collusion," said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, chief of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
The company admitted to conspiring with at least four other generic drug producers and their executives to raise prices on generic drugs used to treat lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, skin conditions and hypertension, Delrahim said.
Last month, former Sandoz executive Hector Armando Kellum pleaded guilty to similar charges of price-fixing and bid-rigging.
Sandoz is the third company to be charged in the investigation. In the other two cases, the companies struck similar deferred prosecution agreements.
In a written statement, the company said it cooperated with the government’s investigation and that the people involved in the criminal conduct are no longer employed.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sandoz said it will bolster employee training and monitoring.
“We take seriously our compliance with antitrust laws, and in reaching today’s resolution, we are not only resolving historical issues but also underscoring our commitment to continually improving our compliance and training programs and evolving our controls," said Sandoz president Carol Lynch.