Please be advised that the Settlement was granted final approval by the Court on February 3, 2022. Applicable appeal periods have expired, and the Settlement is Final. Claim Forms have been sent via United States First Class Mail to the Class. If you wish to submit a Claim for funds from this Settlement, your Claim Form must be postmarked by May 29, 2022 in order to be considered timely.
If you purchased brand Glumetza® directly from Bausch Health Companies Inc., Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Santarus, Inc. and/or generic Glumetza (metformin HCl)1 directly from Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Lupin Ltd., or Oceanside Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (an affiliate of Bausch Health Companies Inc.) between May 6, 2012 and August 15, 2020, you could get a payment from three class action settlements.
Important Dates
November 19, 2021 — Exclusion Deadline
December 1, 2021 — Fee Filing Deadline
December 22, 2021 — Objection Deadline
January 20, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. PST — Final Approval Hearing
May 29, 2022 — Claim Form Postmark Deadline
- The purpose of the notice is to alert you to three proposed settlements in a class action lawsuit (the “Lawsuit”) brought by direct purchasers of brand Glumetza® and/or generic Glumetza (“Plaintiffs”) against Bausch Health Companies Inc., Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Santarus, Inc. (“Bausch”); Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lupin Ltd. (“Lupin”); and Depomed, Inc. and Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. (“Assertio”) (collectively, “Defendants”). The Lawsuit alleges that Defendants violated antitrust laws by, among other things, entering into a reverse payment agreement. Defendants have denied any wrongdoing.
- The Court previously determined that the Lawsuit can be a class action because it meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in federal courts. The class is defined as follows:
All persons or entities in the United States and its territories who directly purchased Glumetza or generic Glumetza from a defendant from May 6, 2012 until [August 15, 2020] (the “Class”).
- The Court has preliminarily approved proposed settlements between the Class and each of the Defendants. The Settlements will provide for the payment of
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- $300 million to resolve the Class’s claims against Bausch (the “Bausch Settlement Fund”);
- $3.85 million to resolve the Class’s claims against Assertio (the “Assertio Settlement Fund”); and
- $150 million to resolve the Class’s claims against Lupin (the “Lupin Settlement Fund”).
- The proposed settlement agreements (the “Settlement Agreements”) are available for your review here.
- The Court has scheduled a hearing to decide whether to approve each of the Settlements, the plan for allocating the Settlement Funds to members of the Class (“Class Members”) (summarized in Question 7 of the notice), and the request of the attorneys for the Class (“Class Counsel”) for payment of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of expenses out of the Settlement Funds (the “Final Approval Hearing”). The Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. PST, before Judge William Alsup. The hearing will be held by telephone. If you would like to attend you may do so by calling 888-684-8852, access code: 3707514.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS ARE AFFECTED WHETHER YOU ACT OR DO NOT ACT, SO PLEASE READ THE NOTICE CAREFULLY.
| YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT | |
|---|---|
WHEN YOU RECEIVE A CLAIM FORM, PROMPTLY COMPLETE AND RETURN IT |
You do not need to do anything now to retain your right to seek a share of the Settlements. If the Court approves the Settlements and you are a Class Member, you will need to complete, sign, and return a claim form (which will be sent to you by mail and email) to obtain a share of the Settlement Funds. |
EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE CLASS |
You may choose to exclude yourself (i.e., “opt out”) from the Class. If you decide to exclude yourself, you will not be bound by any decision in this Lawsuit relating to Defendants and you will not be able to seek any share of or payments from the Settlements. This is the only option that allows you to bring your own separate lawsuit (if you choose to do so) against Defendants relating to the legal claims in this case. |
OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENTS |
If you object to all or any part of one or more of the Settlements, you may write to the Court about why you object to the Settlements. |
GET MORE INFORMATION |
If you would like to obtain more information about the Lawsuit, you can send questions to the lawyers identified in the notice. |
The notice summarizes the proposed Settlements. For the precise terms and conditions of the Settlements, please see the Settlement Agreements, by contacting Class Counsel, by accessing the Court docket in this case, for a fee, through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov, or by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.
PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE SETTLEMENTS OR THE CLAIMS PROCESS.
1 “Generic Glumetza” refers to certain products sold by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. under National Drug Codes (“NDCs”) 68180-338-01, 68180-338-02, 68180-338-03, 68180-339-01, 68180-339-02, and 68180-339-09 and by Oceanside Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an affiliate of Bausch Health Companies Inc., under NDCs 68682-017-10, 68682-018-90, and 68682-021-50. Products sold under other NDCs, even if identified as “Metformin HCl” or “Metformin XR,” are not what is referred to herein as “generic Glumetza.”