44 States Sue Pharma Companies Over Alleged Conspiracy To Inflate Generic Drug Prices By As Much As 1,000%

In court documents, the state prosecutors lay out a brazen price-fixing scheme involving more than a dozen generic drug companies, including Teva, Pfizer, Novartis and Mylan. A key element of the scheme was an agreement among competitors to cooperate on pricing so each company could maintain a “fair share” of the generic drug markets, the complaint alleges.

The Associated Press: States Bring Price Fixing Suit Against Generic Drug Makers

Attorneys general from more than 40 states are alleging the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers conspired to artificially inflate and manipulate prices for more than 100 different generic drugs, including treatments for diabetes, cancer, arthritis and other medical conditions. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Connecticut on Friday, also names 15 individual senior executives responsible for sales, marketing and pricing. (LeBlanc, 5/11)

The New York Times: Teva And Other Generic Drugmakers Inflated Prices Up To 1,000%, State Prosecutors Say

Leading drug companies including Teva, Pfizer, Novartis and Mylan conspired to inflate the prices of generic drugs by as much as 1,000 percent, according to a far-reaching lawsuit filed on Friday by 44 states. The industrywide scheme affected the prices of more than 100 generic drugs, according to the complaint, including lamivudine-zidovudine, which treats H.I.V.; budesonide, an asthma medication; fenofibrate, which treats high cholesterol; amphetamine-dextroamphetamine for A.D.H.D.; oral antibiotics; blood thinners; cancer drugs; contraceptives; and antidepressants. (Murphy, 5/11)

The Hill: 44 States Accuse Drug Companies Of Price-Fixing

Teva USA denied wrongdoing in a statement to Reuters. “The allegations in this new complaint, and in the litigation more generally, are just that – allegations,” the company said. “Teva continues to review the issue internally and has not engaged in any conduct that would lead to civil or criminal liability.” The drugs in the alleged scheme include treatments for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, epilepsy and more, according to the news outlet. (Frazin, 5/11)

The CT Mirror: Tong Ups Stakes And Profile Of Drug Price-Fixing Investigation

Connecticut’s new attorney general, William Tong, is dramatically expanding the scope and raising the profile of the state’s long-running investigation of drug price-fixing, accusing the generic drug industry of a massive anti-trust conspiracy that has cost American consumers, taxpayers and insurers billions of dollars. In lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court and announced Sunday night by his office as “60 Minutes” aired a story about the case, Connecticut and a coalition of 43 other states accuse Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation’s other leading generic drug manufacturers of conspiring to fix prices on more than 100 drugs. (Pazniokas, 5/12)

CBS News: Sweeping Lawsuit Accuses Top Generic Drug Companies, Executives Of Fixing Prices

Congress established the current generic industry in 1984 to push prices down. The idea was that once patents on brand name drugs expired, generic makers would compete to make drugs more affordable. But 1,215 generics, many of them the most prescribed drugs, jumped on average more than 400 percent in a single year. (Whitaker, 5/12)

In other generics pricing news —

NPR: Book Exposes How Some Generic Drug Makers Ignored Safety And Committed Fraud

Generic drugs are supposed to work just as well as their name-brand counterparts. Once a patent lifts, generic drug companies find alternative ways to manufacture a drug that should work indistinguishably from the name-brand version. In a world of skyrocketing prescription drug prices, cheaper generics have acted as a crucial counterweight. (Lambert, 5/12)

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