A collection of 20 states across the country have joined forces to sue certain pharmaceutical companies for conspiratorial practices leading to the artificial inflation of generic drugs.
The state of Connecticut is taking the lead role in the litigation against Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc.; Citron Pharma, LLC; Mayne Pharma (USA), Inc.; Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA. The other plaintiff states include Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
The drugs involved in the long-running conspiracy include doxycycline hyclate delayed release, an
antibiotic, and glyburide, an oral diabetes medication.
The “principal architect” of the scheme was Eatontown, N.J.-based Heritage Pharmaceuticals, according to Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen.
“Through its senior-most executives and salespersons, Heritage organized and initiated a wide-ranging series of conspiracies which included numerous generic drug manufacturers, all of whom were knowing and willing participants,” the complaint says. “Collectively, defendants were able to obtain a substantial windfall as a result of these illegal agreements.”
The windfall amounted to $74.5 billion in 2015, 88% of the market share for prescriptions written in the United States.
The lawsuit alleges that drug company executives would gather together at company social events and collude to artificially raise generic drug prices so that all the companies would profit.
This type of criminal behavior can no longer be tolerated. However, it won’t stop until drug companies pay such a steep price for their illegal behavior that they can’t afford to do so any longer. Until such time, consumers and the entire healthcare industry will suffer as a result of a few greedy pharmaceutical companies seeking to make even larger profits at the expense of the average citizen.