A Hartford Judge Gave the $400 Million Sandoz and Fougera States’ Deal Preliminary Approval on October 16 — $280 Million Set Aside as Restitution. The Sandoz Money With the Nearest Deadline Is Still the $275 Million Class Settlement: November 9, 2026

The Sandoz and Fougera antitrust settlement with the states cleared its first court step on October 16, 2026. The federal docket in Connecticut v. Sandoz, Inc. (D. Conn., No. 3:20-cv-00802), the states’ generic-drug case assigned to Judge Michael P. Shea, records an “Order on Motion for Settlement” as entry 1571 that day. Law360 reported the same afternoon: “A Connecticut federal judge granted preliminary approval Friday to a $400 million settlement between a coalition of states, Sandoz Inc. and its subsidiary Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. over allegations of generic drug price-fixing and market allocation, setting aside $280 million as restitution.” We have not been able to read the order itself; as of October 18, 2026 it is not in the public RECAP archive, so the final-approval hearing date and the notice schedule are not confirmed here.

The path to this point was short. The states announced a settlement in principle on August 3. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who leads the coalition, said on October 1 that “All 43 states and territories have since signed onto the agreement and a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement will be filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in Hartford.” Washington’s attorney general confirmed the filing date of October 1, and Delaware’s wrote on October 8 that the motion “has now been filed.” Fifteen days after filing, the court gave its preliminary approval.

Preliminary approval means the judge found the deal good enough to move forward. It is not final approval, and it does not put money in anyone’s account. The money itself comes slowly: New York’s attorney general says “Sandoz will pay $320,560,180 with interest over the course of the next seven years, for a total of $400 million.”

The states’ $400 million (Hartford). This is a case brought by the attorneys general, not a class action. Counting earlier deals with individual states, Connecticut says “Sandoz will pay a total of approximately $469 million to settle the claims brought by state enforcers.” The settlement also resolves the states’ claims against Novartis AG, Sandoz AG and Sandoz Group AG, which the states accused of taking part in the alleged conduct and of fraudulently transferring assets, and it requires internal reforms, including an antitrust compliance program with annual training and a Chief Compliance Officer. New York says “The funds will be distributed to impacted consumers across the coalition states.” State releases give a sense of the split between consumers and state agencies: Oregon expects about $4.76 million, of which “an estimated $2.96 million for eligible consumers who were harmed” and $1.8 million for damages, Medicaid reimbursements and agency recoveries. Pennsylvania expects more than $14.8 million, including up to $9.19 million for consumer restitution, as Medical Daily reported, citing the state’s attorney general. Washington’s share is more than $12 million, Connecticut’s $5.1 million. Washington and Idaho are the only states that also secured restitution for businesses. Indiana and Ohio both signed the deal.

The class’s $275 million (Philadelphia). This is the settlement most postcards and emails have been about. The court-authorized notice of July 10, 2026 reads: “Sandoz paid $275 million and Sun/Taro paid $200 million to settle all consumer and TPP claims in this lawsuit. Heritage paid $10 million and Apotex paid $48 million to settle the TPP claims in this lawsuit” — $533 million in all, with only the Sandoz and Sun/Taro money open to individual consumers. TPPs are third-party payers such as insurers and self-funded employer plans. The class covers people and health plans that paid some or all of the price of a listed generic “in the United States (except Indiana and Ohio) and in some United States territories, at any time during the period from May 1, 2009, through December 31, 2019.” The court has already granted final approval of these settlements.

What is the amount of the generic drug settlement payout? No official per-person figure exists in either program. The class notice says a valid claim gets “a proportional (or pro rata) payment” and that “Your payment amount will depend on the number of valid claims and the amount of money you spent on the Named Generic Drugs from May 1, 2009 through December 31, 2019,” after notice and administration costs, attorney’s fees, litigation expenses and service awards come off. For the states’ deal, neither the releases nor the Law360 report we read gives a per-person estimate, and none of them explains how the $280 million restitution figure relates to the individual state shares.

Class claim — deadline November 9, 2026. The notice is explicit: “To receive settlement benefits, you must submit a claim form with supporting documents,” either online “on or before November 9, 2026” or on paper “postmarked on or before November 9, 2026.” And: “If you do not submit your claim form on or before November 9, 2026, you will not get a payment from the settlements.” File at GenericDrugsEndPayerSettlement.com or call 1-877-316-0171. Our September 30 guide walks through the drug list and the proof-of-purchase rules.

States’ program — deadline March 8, 2027. New York’s attorney general, announcing the Sandoz deal, wrote: “Eligible consumers must submit their claim by March 8, 2027 to receive compensation.” Claims go through AGGenericDrugs.com, by phone at 1-866-290-0182 or by email to info@AGGenericDrugs.com; a paper form can be requested from the administrator. The states describe eligibility broadly: “If you purchased a generic prescription drug between May 2009 and December 2019, you may be eligible for compensation.” The two programs are separate, with different websites, phone lines and deadlines; none of the notices we read says that a claim in one counts in the other. If you qualify for both, file both. Indiana and Ohio residents are outside the class but inside the states’ deal.

The October 16 order does not change either deadline, as far as the public record we read shows. As of October 18, 2026, we found no announcement saying how the Sandoz $400 million will be added to the states’ claims program or when it will be paid.

The class notice opens with “A federal court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer,” and names one website, GenericDrugsEndPayerSettlement.com, and one phone number, 1-877-316-0171. The states’ program uses AGGenericDrugs.com, info@AGGenericDrugs.com and 1-866-290-0182. A message that points to any other address for either program is a reason to stop; type the address yourself rather than tapping a link.

The notice also states that class members “do not need to sign up with a claims recovery firm or pay another law firm in order to participate in these settlements.” Filing is free. And the October 16 headlines are not a sign that a check is on its way: the $400 million arrives over seven years, final approval is still pending, and as of October 18, 2026 no payment date has been announced in either program.

The states accuse Sandoz, Fougera and dozens of other manufacturers of a “broad, coordinated, and systematic conspiracy to fix prices, avoid competition, and rig bids for more than 100 different generic drugs,” with some price increases “over 1,000 percent,” in New York’s words. Those are allegations; no court has found that Sandoz broke the law. The class notice likewise says the settling and non-settling defendants “deny any wrongdoing.”

Before Sandoz, the states settled with Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex, Heritage and Heritage’s parent Emcure for a combined $96.5 million. The litigation, which began in 2016, continues against the remaining companies: the complaint going to trial first “focuses on 80 topical generic drugs” and names 26 corporate and 10 individual defendants, and Connecticut says the first trial is set for Hartford in February 2027. In Philadelphia, the class case also goes on against the companies that have not settled. For a consumer the order of business is unchanged by the October 16 ruling: the class claim by November 9, 2026, the states’ claim by March 8, 2027.

Our October 12 report covers the October 1 filing and the background of the states’ case.