Feb 18 (Reuters) - Swiss generic drug manufacturer

Sandoz has agreed to pay $275 million to resolve claims by U.S.

consumers and others who accused the company of conspiring with

industry rivals to illegally fix prices.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs, including the City of

Providence, Rhode Island and a New York City police employee

benefits plan, asked U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe in

Philadelphia on Friday to approve the settlement.

Sandoz denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. The

company said it will cooperate with the plaintiffs as they

pursue claims against other drugmakers.

The antitrust case includes several drug makers that were

not part of Friday's settlement, including Pfizer ( PFE ), Teva and

Lupin. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for

comment and have denied wrongdoing.

Sandoz and attorneys for the plaintiffs, "end-purchasers"

including consumers who bought Sandoz drugs from pharmacies, did

not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The settlement period covers some purchases between 2009 and

2019 for drugs, including the antidepressants amitriptyline and

clomipramine, and for clobetasol, which is used to treat some

skin conditions.

The settlement class likely includes millions of members

with claims tied to Sandoz's alleged price-fixing, the

plaintiffs' lawyers told the court.

Their court filing said "continued litigation of the claims

against Sandoz would be protracted and without guarantee of any

recovery."

The attorneys said they will seek up to $91.6 million in

legal fees and $26 million in litigation expenses.

Sandoz last year agreed to pay $265 million to resolve

related claims lodged in the litigation by a group of wholesale

drug purchasers and others.

The case is In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust

Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania, No. 2:16-MD-02724.

For end-payor class: Roberta Liebenberg and Jeffrey Istvan

of Fine, Kaplan and Black

For Sandoz: Matthew Kent of Alston & Bird

Read more:

Drugmakers Apotex, Heritage to pay $49 mln to resolve

states' price-fixing claims

Ex-Sandoz exec gets probation for price-fixing after

cooperation deal

US drops price-fixing case against former Taro

Pharmaceutical executive