PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - California Attorney General Kamala Harris has announced that California, in conjunction with 34 other states and the District of Columbia, has filed a lawsuit against Indivior, a British pharmaceutical company, and MonoSol Rx for alleged antitrust violations.
According to the lawsuit, the two companies created a multi-pronged “product-hopping” scheme. The purported scheme was designed to block competition for an opioid addiction treatment called Suboxone. The states allege this unlawful plan generated millions in undeserved profits for the companies.
"When prescription drug companies unlawfully manipulate the marketplace to maximize profits, they put lives at risk and drive up the cost of healthcare for everyone. Indivior and Monosol flagrantly violated the law, deceiving doctors and patients and shutting down generic competition in order to rake in profits," Harris said. "These companies must be held accountable for this unlawful scheme that cost the public nearly a billion dollars and hampered fair competition in the marketplace."
According to the complaint, the product-hopping scheme is a monopoly. The states charge the companies with conspiracy to monopolize, violations of federal antitrust laws, and violations of the California’s Cartwright Act and Unfair Competition Law.