![GavelwithSilveronIt.gif](https://www.fdanews.com/ext/resources/test/Drug-Images3/GavelwithSilveronIt.gif?t=1576046135&width=430)
Assertio, Lupin, Other Drugmakers Sued for Anti-Competitive Behavior
Assertio and Lupin were hit with two more lawsuits in a California federal court alleging that they engaged in anticompetitive behavior over Assertio’s diabetes drug Glumetza (metformin).
The suits in the U.S. District Court for Northern California allege that Assertio and Santarus entered into a pay-for-delay agreement with Lupin in February 2012 to settle patent infringement litigation over Lupin’s generic version. The complaints followed a separate class action lawsuit filed in late August.
One suit, brought by supermarket chains Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie, alleges direct buyers had to overpay for the drug by over $2.8 billion and by an additional $175 million every year as the alleged scheme continues. The other suit, brought by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 Welfare Fund, alleges that indirect buyers had to overpay by “hundreds of millions.”