Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. allegedly agreed with Par Pharmaceuticals Inc. to squelch generic competition to Novartis’s hypertension drug Exforge, resulting in buyers paying millions more than they should have for the name-brand drug while competition languished. The plaintiff, Puerto Rican pharmacy Drogueria Betances, alleges that Novartis, in return for Par putting off generic entry for as much as two years, promised Par six months as the only generic on the market without Novartis marketing its own generic version of the drug. The plaintiff estimates the value of that agreement to Par was “at least approximately $102.4 million.” Purchasers spent up to two years paying for the branded drug when they should have been able to purchase a cheaper generic, the complaint says, and then paid more for Par’s exclusive generic than they would have had others been able to compete to sell the drug.