Facts

Plaintiffs filed a class action against Bayer AG, stemming from the sale of the drug Ciprofloxacin. The plaintiffs claimed that Bayer paid $398.1 million to various laboratories in exchange for an agreement not to produce a generic version of Cipro or to pursue patent litigation against the Cipro patent. As a result, consumers were denied access to an affordable, generic version of Cipro.

Bayer was granted a patent for Cipro in 1987. After Barr Laboratories filed an application to market and sell a generic version, Bayer filed a patent infringement suit against Barr. Bayer and Barr eventually entered into a settlement agreement where Barr would abandon its challenges to the Cipro patent.

Result

The parties settled for $74 million with Bayer. The rest of the case continues against Barr and the other non-settling defendants.