BRIEF—Sun Pharma settles antitrust claims against Ranbaxy for $485 million

Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries says it will pay $485 million to settle a multidistrict suit claiming that its subsidiary Ranbaxy manipulated the US Food and Drug Administration's generic-drug approval process to stop competitors from developing generic versions of three medicines.

According to a  regulatory filing, Sun said it had signed a binding term sheet to resolve lawsuits by direct purchasers of the drugs, including drug wholesalers, and indirect purchasers, such as health plans, accusing Ranbaxy, which Sun acquired for $4 billion of racketeering and antitrust violations.

The products in question are Novartis's blood pressure drug Diovan (valsartan), Pfizer's acid reflux medication Nexium (esomeprazole) and Roche's antiviral drug Valcyte (valganciclovir).