California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with a coalition of 50 states and territories, has announced cooperation agreements and settlements with Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex. These settlements, totaling $49.1 million, address allegations of price manipulation and anti-competitive practices concerning generic prescription drugs. Both companies have committed to cooperate in ongoing multistate litigations involving 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives.
Attorney General Bonta stated, "When drug prices are inflated, it often forces patients to make impossible choices between essential medications and basic necessities, while undermining our healthcare system." He emphasized the importance of holding companies accountable for actions that inflate drug prices.
The settlement includes a $10 million agreement with Heritage Pharmaceuticals, which was filed for preliminary approval in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. The $39.1 million settlement with Apotex is pending signatures from all involved states and territories before finalization.
The investigations leading to these cases relied on evidence from cooperating witnesses, a database containing over 20 million documents, call detail records, and contact information for more than 600 sales and pricing individuals within the generics industry. The complaints highlight an alleged network of executives who coordinated illegal agreements through various informal meetings and communications.
Connecticut led the coalition in filing three antitrust complaints starting in 2016. The first complaint included Heritage Pharmaceuticals among other defendants; subsequent complaints involved Teva Pharmaceuticals and other major manufacturers.
Consumers who purchased qualifying generic prescription drugs between 2010 and 2018 may be eligible for compensation by contacting the provided toll-free number or visiting the website listed in the announcement.
Attorney General Bonta was joined by attorneys general from across the United States including Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas among others.