Sun Pharma settles Modafinil antitrust litigation with certain US plaintiffs

Sun Pharma, India’s largest drugmaker on November 26 entered into settlements with certain plaintiffs in the Modafinil Antitrust Litigation matter pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The company didn’t disclose the quantum of the settlement amount.

“The settlements extend to all claims brought by the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs. The terms of the settlements are confidential,” Sun Pharma said in a statement to stock exchanges.

In the second quarter ended September 30, reported a net loss of Rs 218 crore largely due to Rs 950.5 crore write-off it took on Modafinil settlement.

A group of direct purchasers sued Cephalon, Mylan, Teva and Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2006 for so-called “pay-for-delay” settlements in which brand-name drug makers pay their generic counterparts to keep drugs off the market.

The purchasers said Cephalon – the innovator reached settlements in patent lawsuits it brought against Mylan, Teva and Ranbaxy in which it paid them to keep generic versions of Provigil off the market until 2012.

Modafinil, sold under the brand name Provigil among others, is a medication to treat sleepiness due to narcolepsy or chronic sleep disorder that causes overwhelming daytime drowsiness.

The lawsuit said the settlements, reached in 2005 and 2006, were in violation of federal antitrust law.

Sun Pharma bought Ranbaxy for $3.2 billion in May 2015.