UPDATE: Delaware expands lawsuit to allege price-fixing of generic drugs
Delaware officials say they are expanding their lawsuit to include price-fixing of generic drugs. Forty-six states are now a part of the litigation.
Officials with the Delaware Attorney General's Office say on Tuesday, that the state Attorney General and other Attorneys General have expanded the range of a lawsuit against generic drug manufacturers alleging illegal price-fixing agreements. The lawsuit apparently names two executives of the defendant companies and seeks against 18 companies for price-fixing of drugs including generic antibiotics and generics used to treat epilepsy, high blood pressure, and asthma. The two executive named in the expande lawsuit are reportedly Rajiv Malik, president and executive director of Mylan N.V., which is the parent company of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Satish Mehta, the chief executive officer and managing director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., which is the parent company of Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
According to officials, the lawsuit alleges that the manufacturers illegally agreed to fix prices and assign customers for a number of generic drugs. It also claims that these conspiracies were part of a much broader, overarching industry code of conduct that allowed the defendants to divide the market for specific generic drugs in accordance with an established, agreed-upon understanding for assigning each competitor their share of the market. Officials report that this has resulted in artificially inflated prices for generic drugs, which have impacted both government healthcare programs such as Medicaid, and private insurance costs.
The Office of Delaware's Attorney General says the state was one of 20 states that initially filed the lawsuit in December 2016. Officials report that the specific companies named in the states' motion to expand its complaint are: Actavis Holdco U.S., Inc.; Actavis Pharma, Inc.; Ascend Laboratories, LLC; Apotex Corp.; Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc.; Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.; Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Lannett Company, Inc.; Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc.; Sandoz, Inc.; Sun Pharmaceutical Industries,Inc.; and Zydus Pharmacuticuals (USA), Inc.
In a statement, Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn says, "Generic drugs make up 88% of the prescriptions written in the United States and prescription drug costs are a significant part of the health care costs borne by Delawareans. It is critical that pharmaceutical companies follow the law when it comes to setting the prices for their products, and we will continue to work with other states to be vigilant in ensuring compliance by the pharmaceutical industry."
According to the Office of the Delaware Attorney General, the following are the specific generic drugs that states seek to expand their complaint to accuse of price fixing:
-Acetazolamide, used to treat glaucoma and epilepsy
-Doxycycline monohydrate, an antibiotic
-Fosinopril-hydrochlorothiazide, used to treat high blood pressure
-Glipizide-metformin, a diabetes medication
-Glyburide-metformin, a diabetes medication
-Leflunomide, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis;
-Meprobamate, an anxiety medication;
-Nimodipine, a calcium channel blocking agent used to reduce problems caused by a bleeding blood vessel in the brain;
-Nystatin, an antifungal medication;
-Paromomycin, an antibiotic used to treat certain parasite infections;
-Theophylline, used to treat asthma and other lung problems;
-Verapamil, used to treat hypertension; and
-Zoledronic acid, used to treat hypercalcemia
