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Friday, November 22, 2024

Texas AG sues pharma firms over alleged insulin price inflation

State AG
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Attorney General Ken Paxton | Official Website

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has initiated legal action against several major insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), including Eli Lilly, Express Scripts, and CVS Pharmacy. The lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to artificially inflate insulin prices.

According to the complaint, the manufacturers increased insulin prices significantly and paid a portion back to PBMs in exchange for preferred status in their offerings. This practice allegedly led to higher list prices for drugs while excluding more affordable options. Insulin, which costs less than $2 to produce, was initially priced at $20 when introduced in the late 1990s but now ranges from $300 to $700. Over the past decade, these companies have reportedly raised insulin prices by up to 1,000%.

Attorney General Paxton argues that this pricing scheme violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and constitutes unjust enrichment and unlawful civil conspiracy. "This is a disturbing conspiracy by which pharmaceutical companies were intentionally and artificially inflating the price of insulin," stated Paxton. "Big Pharma insulin manufacturers and PBMs worked together to take advantage of diabetes patients and drive prices as high as they could."

The complaint further claims that PBM Defendants misrepresented their services as beneficial for clients and diabetics while actually coordinating with Manufacturer Defendants to manipulate the diabetic treatment market.

Legal representation for this case includes Liston & Deas, David Nutt & Associates, the Cicala Law Firm, and Foreman Watkins Krutz.

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