Madigan & 39 Attorneys General File Amended Complaint in Lawsuit against Six Drug Companies, Alleging Violations of State Antitrust & Consumer Protection Laws
Chicago —(ENEWSPF)–March 1, 2017. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today joined a federal antitrust lawsuit alleging that six generic drugmakers entered into illegal agreements in order to artificially inflate and manipulate drug prices for two generic drugs.
A lawsuit filed in federal court increases the number of states to 40 in the complaint filed against Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc., Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc., Citron Pharma LLC, Mayne Pharma (USA) Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. in December 2016. The amended complaint also adds claims of violations of state antitrust and consumer fraud laws.
The complaint alleges the generic drug companies coordinated schemes with their competitors while at industry trade shows and customer conferences, as well as through emails, phone calls and text messages. The alleged conduct includes illegal price fixing and allocating markets that thwart competition and increase costs to healthcare.
“Our lawsuit alleges drug companies engaged in illegal behavior to increase the cost of drugs,” Madigan said. “This unlawful conduct is responsible for the soaring cost of vital and potentially lifesaving prescription drugs. This dangerous trend must be curtailed.”
The initial investigation into the pharmaceutical companies began in 2014 and examined the reasons behind suspicious price increases of certain generic drugs. The investigation continues into a number of additional generic drugs, generic drug companies and key executives. It has uncovered evidence of a well-coordinated and long-running conspiracy to fix prices and allocate markets for an antibiotic drug called doxycycline hyclate delayed release and an oral diabetes medication called glyburide.
The lawsuit was filed under seal in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Portions of the complaint being made public have been redacted in order to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation.
Joining Madigan in filing today’s complaint were attorneys general from the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Bureau Chief Robert Pratt is handling the case for Madigan’s Antitrust Bureau.
A copy of the amended complaint can be found here.
Source: http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
