A federal judge in Virginia approved a $70 million settlement agreement Thursday between drug purchasers and two pharmaceutical companies over the cholesterol-lowering medication Zetia, and allegations that drug manufacturers delayed the introduction of a less-expensive generic version.
U.S. District Senior Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia approved the final settlement agreement between a class of drug purchasers and pharmaceutical companies, Merck & Co. and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, which also requires the defendants to pay one-third of the settlement fund in attorney fees, or $23 million, as well as $3.9 million in costs—as requested by plaintiffs’ counsel.
