Indian generics manufacturer, Ranbaxy, has agreed to pay £4.5 million pounds to the UK’s Department of Health for its part in an antibiotic drugs cartel that ran between 1996 and 2000.

Under the terms of the settlement, Ranbaxy, which has not admitted liability, has also agreed to provide co-operation in the context of the ongoing proceedings.

The case first hit the headlines back in 2002 when the Serious Fraud Office carried out raids at a number of addresses [[11/04/02a]]. Six pharmaceutical companies, including Ranbaxy, were alleged to have overcharged the NHS for penicillin-based antibiotics and the blood-thinning agent warfarin throughout the four-year period [[22/12/03b]].