Attorney General Brenna Bird Seeks Court Approval for $400 Million Settlement with Sandoz for Overcharging for Generic Drugs and Limiting Competition
DES MOINES – Attorney General Brenna Bird today joined a coalition of 43 states and territories seeking court approval of a $400 million settlement with Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. to resolve allegations that the generic drug manufacturers engaged in a widespread, long-running conspiracy to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs. The coalition reached a settlement in principle on August 3rd, 2026, and all 43 states and territories have since signed onto the agreement. A motion for preliminary approval of the settlement will be filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in Hartford.
Under the terms of this agreement and previous settlements Sandoz reached with other states, Sandoz will pay a total of approximately $469 million to settle the claims brought by state enforcers. The settlement will also resolve allegations that Sandoz Inc.’s past and present international affiliates, Novartis AG, Sandoz AG, and Sandoz Group AG, participated in the alleged anticompetitive conduct and fraudulently transferred assets to avoid liability. As part of the settlement, Sandoz has agreed to meaningful meaning ful changes including a series of internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.
Iowa’s share of today’s settlement is $1,380,384.01.
This latest settlement comes as the coalition prepares for the first trial to be held in Hartford, Connecticut in February 2027. The Sandoz settlement follows settlements with Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex and Heritage, and Heritage’s parent company, Emcure, totaling $96.5 million.
“For years, these drug companies illegally manipulated the market, causing Iowans to pay higher prices for life-saving medicines they needed, like antibiotics and blood pressure medication,” said Attorney General Bird. “Now, it’s time for them to pay the price and be held accountable. I’m thankful for the hard work that went into this victory and that Iowans can get money back.”
If you purchased a generic drug listed here between May 2009 and December 2019, you may be eligible for compensation. To determine your eligibility, call 1-866-290-0182 (Toll-Free), email info@AGGenericDrugs.com or visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com. You can submit a claim for compensation here.
Iowa is part of a coalition of nearly all states and territories engaged in a series of antitrust cases, starting first in 2016. The cases all stem from a series of investigations built on evidence from several cooperating witnesses at the core of the different conspiracies, a massive document database of over 20 million documents, and a phone records database containing millions of call detail records and contact information for over 600 sales and pricing individuals in the generics industry. Each complaint addresses a different set of drugs and defendants and lays out an interconnected web of competing industry executives that met with each other during industry dinners, "girls' nights out," lunches, cocktail parties, golf outings and communicated via frequent telephone calls, emails and text messages that sowed the seeds for their illegal agreements. Throughout the complaints, defendants use terms like "fair share," "playing nice in the sandbox," and "responsible competitor" to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices and enforced an ingrained culture of collusion.
States and territories joining this settlement with Sandoz include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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For More Information:
Jen Green | jen.green@ag.iowa.gov
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