Teva, 20 other generic drugmakers sued by 44-state coalition in US over price-fixing

By PharmaCompass

2019-05-17

Impressions: 90 Article

In the US, a coalition of 44 states sued Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc and 20 other companies for orchestrating a sweeping scheme to inflate drug prices, sometimes by more than 1,000 percent. This way, they stifled competition for generic drugs, the state prosecutors said.

The 500-page lawsuit accuses the generic drug industry of a long history of discreet ‘price fixing’ agreements. At the height of the conspiracy (from July 2013 to January 2015), the price of one blood pressure medication increased by as much as 2,700 percent.

The complaint pertains to 116 common medications, including everyday antibiotics, antidepressants, contraceptives, drugs to treat conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, epilepsy etc.

Besides Teva, the lawsuit names Sandoz, Mylan, Pfizer, Actavis, Amneal, Apotex, Aurobindo, Breckenridge, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Glenmark, Greenstone, Lannett, Lupin, Par, Rising, Taro Israel, Taro USA, Upsher-Smith, Wockhardt USA and Zydus.

Attorney General Ferguson said: “This is one of the most damaging price-fixing conspiracies in history — we’re going to hold those responsible accountable.”

The lawsuit also names 15 individuals as defendants who it said carried out the schemes on a day-to-day basis. The lawsuit is parallel to an action brought in December 2016 by the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia. That case was later expanded to include more than a dozen drugmakers.

The generic industry has vehemently denied the allegations. Teva’s chief financial officer Mike McClellan said the company has done nothing wrong. He told a conference in Israel that the suit was an amended one and not new, while stressing it was civil and not criminal.

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