Takeda Hit With $885 Million Verdict in Pay-for-Delay Case (1)

A federal jury ordered Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. to pay $884.9 million in damages for violating antitrust law by delaying the generic version of its branded Amitiza drug through an illegal agreement with a competitor.

The verdict, delivered Monday in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, comes after a four-week trial in a case first brought by buyers of the Amitiza drug in 2021.

Pay-for-delay deals occur when brand-name drugmakers compensate generic manufacturers to postpone the launch of less-expensive medications.

Jurors agreed with plaintiffs that Takeda entered into a unlawful deal with Par Pharmaceutical Inc. to postpone ...