BRIEF—Jury hands Endo a win In Opana pay-for-delay case

In the USA, an Illinois jury sided with Endo Pharmaceuticals on Friday over allegations that it struck an unlawful settlement with Impax Laboratories to delay a generic version of Endo's Opana ER painkiller, finding the deal did more to boost competition than stifle it, sending the firm’s shares rocketing 41.5% to $0.60.

As the firm’s legal and financial woes have snowballed, Endo shares have fallen 88% from the $3.85 they were worth at the start of the year.

The jury in Chicago federal court  rejected claims by a class of purchasers that bought from Opana ER directly, led by drug wholesalers; a class of indirect purchasers, led by several employee health plans and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana; and several individual retailers including Walgreens Boots Alliance and Kroger.

"Endo is very pleased with the jury's verdict and is grateful for its careful deliberation," said Endo chief legal officer Matthew Maletta in a statement, adding: "Today's verdict confirms that the 2010 settlement agreement between Endo and Impax was procompetitive and enabled Impax to come to market with its generic version of Opana ER years earlier than otherwise would have been permitted."