By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -A federal judge on Friday said 36 drugmakers and executives must face nearly all claims in an antitrust lawsuit brought by most U.S. states, accusing them of conspiring to fix prices of 80 generic drugs.

Chief Judge Michael Shea of the federal district court in Connecticut rejected claims that 45 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories waited an unreasonably long time to pursue federal antitrust claims, and missed formal deadlines to file similar claims under state laws.

Led by Connecticut, the states accused drugmakers including Pfizer, Perrigo and Sandoz of conspiring to raise prices, limit competition and allocate customers for drugs, primarily for skin ailments, between 2009 and 2016.

In a 130-page decision, Shea said the defendants

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