JACKSON, Miss. (Legal Newsline) – Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood recently commented on the state Supreme Court’s decision to refuse to reconsider a verdict of $30 million against Sandoz Inc., a pharmaceutical company.
“It is reassuring to know that when a big drug company like Sandoz cheats the taxpayers, justice will prevail,” Hood said. “The court made the right decision to turn back a greedy corporation that focused on its own profits at the expense of the people of Mississippi.”
In the initial case, Rankin County Chancery Court Chancellor Tom Zebert decided that Sandoz had defrauded the state of Mississippi and cost taxpayers $24 million by reporting average wholesale prices (AWPs) that grossly exceeded the actual prices it charged consumers. These allegedly manipulated prices force the state to pay more for prescription drugs given to Medicare recipients. Because of the alleged fraud, the state was given compensatory, statutory and punitive damages.
Attorney General Hood’s office notes that the case against Sandoz is one of many similar cases against drug companies that allegedly manipulated their AWPs. Hood’s efforts in these other cases have helped the state recover $170 million from 61 drug companies.