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Teva Settles Claims Alleging It Blocked Cheaper QVAR Alternatives

By  |  October 27, 2025

Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay $35 million and remove six patents from a U.S. regulatory list to resolve claims that the company delayed generic competition for its QVAR asthma inhalers, according to Reuters. The proposed settlement, filed in federal court in Massachusetts on Friday, still requires judicial approval.

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    The agreement aims to end a class action brought by consumers, health and welfare plans, and other end-payors who alleged Teva’s actions unlawfully kept cheaper generic versions of QVAR off the market, per Reuters. The inhaler contains the asthma medication beclomethasone dipropionate HFA, and the plaintiffs claimed the delay led to inflated prices.

    Teva denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The company and attorneys for the plaintiffs, including the Iron Workers District Council of New England Health and Welfare Fund, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.

    In the lawsuit, filed in 2023, the plaintiffs accused Teva of improperly listing patents and engaging in “sham” litigation to shield its inhaler from competition. As part of the settlement, Teva will withdraw six patents associated with QVAR from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Orange Book, which tracks patents protecting approved drugs. Certain patents for Teva’s QVAR Redihaler device will remain, court documents indicate.

    Read more: H-E-B Joins Antitrust Battle Against Teva Over MS Drug Monopoly

    The settlement class includes consumers and payors in 42 states and the District of Columbia who purchased or reimbursed QVAR products between January 2015 and July 2025, according to Reuters.

    Attorneys for the plaintiffs described the deal as “an excellent result” in court filings. They noted that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission had previously urged Teva to withdraw the disputed patents but was unsuccessful. “End-Payor Plaintiffs here have achieved what the FTC did not,” they told the court.

    Plaintiffs’ attorneys said they intend to seek up to roughly $11.5 million—about one-third of the settlement fund—for legal fees.

    The case is titled Iron Workers District Council of New England Health and Welfare Fund et al v. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd et al, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 1:23-cv-11131-NMG.

    Attorneys for the plaintiffs include Joseph Vanek of Sperling Kenny Nachwalter, Steve Shadowen of Hilliard & Shadowen, and Todd Seaver of Berman Tabacco. Teva is represented by Devora Allon of Kirkland & Ellis.

    Source: Reuters