According to the US Department of Justice, Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay more than $200 million in fines and divest a key generic drug used to treat cholesterol to settle price-fixing charges.

The DOJ said the settlement is the largest penalty paid “for a domestic antitrust cartel.” Pravastatin, a widely used cholesterol medication, is the drug that will be divested to a third party.

Teva’s rival Glenmark will also pay a $30 million criminal penalty in six installments, the company said. Glenmark President Sanjeev Krishan said the company “has devoted considerable resources to strengthening our compliance practices.”

This agreement brings the total penalties for a multi-year investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation schemes in seven pharmaceutical companies to more than $681 million. Two more companies have admitted to price-fixing: Teva and Glenmark.

During the next five years, Teva will pay $225 million. As part of its admission to price fixing, Clotrimazole and Tobramycin will also be donated to humanitarian organizations in the amount of $50 million each.

“The resolutions include extraordinary remedial measures to break up assets and restore competition,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the DOJ’s antitrust division. Companies in heavily regulated industries should be aware that the division will not hesitate to hold them accountable and will not tolerate recidivism.”

In 2020, the DOJ charged the drugmaker with participating in three price-fixing conspiracies. There was a single count of conspiracy between Glenmark and Teva to raise the price of pravastatin between 2013 and 2015. In addition, Teva admitted to violating antitrust rules when it sold clotrimazole, which treats skin infections, and tobramycin, which treats eye infections and cystic fibrosis.

In three instances involving three separate customers between 2013 and 2015, Teva agreed with competitors that it would not bid on an opportunity to supply that customer with a particular generic product.

A statement from Teva stated, “We are pleased to put these charges behind us and remain well-positioned to defend against related civil claims.”