Benzinga | Sep 10, 2021 07:36PM EDT

Bausch Pays $300M For Diabetes Drug Lawsuit: Reuters

* Reuters reports that Bausch Health Companies Inc (NYSE:BHC) will pay $300 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit related to illegally maintaining a monopoly on diabetes drug Glumetza.

* The FDA first approved Glumetza, a once-daily extended-release version of metformin, owned by Depomed, now known as Assertio Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ASRT), and Santarus, which Bausch later acquired.

* Lupin Pharmaceuticals created its generic version of Glumetza, set to launch in late 2012. The lawsuit alleged that Assertio and Santarus used a "pay-for-delay" deal with Lupin, pushing its market entry back until 2016.

* According to the lawsuit, the resulting monopoly allowed Bausch to the price for Glumetza by nearly 800% in 2015, jumping from $5.72 per tablet to $51 just a few months later.

* Price Action: BHC shares are down 0.35% at $28.51 during the market session on the last check Friday.