Takeda faces $885m hit after landmark pay-for-delay lawsuit verdict

Robert Barrie

Wed, May 20, 2026 astatine 6:15 AM CDT 2 min read

Takeda has been ordered to wage $885m – perchance rising to $2.5bn – aft a landmark tribunal lawsuit verdict recovered the Japanese pharma institution liable for a conspired statement to support marketplace monopoly of its constipation cause Amitiza (lubiprostone).

A assemblage successful the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts recovered Takeda liable successful a pay-for-delay litigation. This anticompetitive maneuver involves a pharmaceutical institution paying a generic rival to clasp disconnected selling a copycat cause successful instrumentality for fiscal compensation. It is the archetypal clip a national assemblage has recovered a drugmaker liable successful a pay-for-delay case.

The suit was filed by wholesalers, retail pharmacies, and extremity payers successful 2021, claiming they had been overpaying for Amitiza. Retail giants CVS and Walgreens were among those suing Takeda. In the eyes of the jury, Takeda was recovered to person entered into an anticompetitive statement with generic drugmaker Par Pharma, which stopped a cheaper mentation of the cause from reaching the market.

As per Takeda, damages to wholesalers magnitude to $475m, portion idiosyncratic retailers are being awarded $347m. These volition beryllium automatically trebled erstwhile the last signaling of the court’s determination is made, meaning the last fig could emergence to astir $2.5bn.

In a connection pursuing the decision, Takeda confirmed it would entreaty the outcome.

The institution said: “We stay steadfast successful our condemnation that the plaintiffs’ lawsuit lacks merit, and we volition vigorously prosecute post-trial motions and an appeal. We besides judge that determination were some evidentiary and ineligible errors made during the trial. While we are disappointed with this outcome, we convey the assemblage for its service.”

Reacting to the proceedings, Citi analysts stated: “The magnitude of damages remains undetermined until the territory tribunal delivers its last judgment, and adjacent if Takeda were to suffer the territory tribunal case, we would expect it to entreaty and the litigation to continue.”

Amitiza was approved successful the US successful 2006 for the attraction of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) successful adults. As its halfway patent expiries approached successful 2017, Takeda and its spouse Sucampo Pharmaceuticals negotiated a $210m colony with Par Pharmaceuticals successful 2014. The statement saw Par hold the marketplace introduction of its generic referencing Amitiza until 2021. Peak income for Takeda’s cause came successful the late-2010s, erstwhile it generated astir $500m anually, according to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Centre. Takeda nary longer sells Amitiza aft the expiry of its licence statement with Sucampo successful March 2024.

GlobalData is the genitor institution of Pharmaceutical Technology.