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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

AG Fitch Announces Agreements with Generic Drug Manufacturers

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Attorney Lynn Fitch | wikipedia

Attorney  General  Fitch joined  a  coalition  of50  states  and  territories  announcing  two  significant  cooperation  agreementsand  settlements  with  Heritage  Pharmaceuticals  and  Apotex  totaling  $49.1 million  to  resolve  allegations  that  both  companies  engaged  in  widespread,long-running  conspiracies  to  artificially  inflate  and  manipulate  prices,  reducecompetition, and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous genericprescription drugs.

“Generic  drugs  are  supposed  to  be  a  more  affordable  alternative,  and  throughthis  litigation  and  these  settlements,  we  are  holding  the  companies  that  keptprices artificially high accountable for taking advantage of struggling families,"said  Attorney  General  Lynn  Fitch.  "My  office  is  committed  to  takingaction to lower your drug costs and we encourage any Mississippian who thinksthey may be eligible to register.

"If  you  purchased  a  generic  prescription  drug  from  either Heritage  or  Apotexbetween  2010  and  2018,  you  may  be  eligible  for  compensation.  To  determineyour   eligibility,   call   1-866-290-0182,   email info@AGGenericDrugs.com   orvisit www.AGGenericDrugs.com.As  part  of  their  settlement  agreements,  both  companies  have  agreed  tocooperate   in   the   ongoing   multistate   litigations,   in   which   Mississippi   isparticipating,  against  30  corporate  defendants  and  25  individual  executives.Both  companies  have  further  agreed  to  a  series  of  internal  reforms  to  ensurefair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.A motion for preliminary approval of the $10 million settlement with Heritagewas   filed  in   the   United   States   District   Court   for   the   District   ofConnecticut  in  Hartford. 

 A  settlement  with  Apotex  for  $39.1  million  iscontingent  upon  obtaining  signatures  from  all  necessary  states  and  territoriesand will be finalized and filed in the U.S. District Court in the near future. The.settlements  come  as  the  states  prepare  for  the  first  trial  in  the  continuinglawsuits to be held in Hartford, Connecticut.The cases all stem from a series of investigations built on evidence from severalcooperating  witnesses  at  the  core  of  the  different  conspiracies,  a  massivedocument  database  of  over  20  million  documents,  and  a  phone  recordsdatabase containing millions of call detail records and contact information forover 600 sales and pricing individuals in the generics industry. Each complaintaddresses   a   different   set   of   drugs   and   defendants,   and   lays   out   aninterconnected  web  of  industry  executives  where  these  competitors  met  witheach other during industry dinners, "girls nights out," lunches, cocktail parties,and  golf  outings,  and  communicated  via  frequent  telephone  calls,  emails  andtext messages that sowed the seeds for their illegal agreements. Throughout thecomplaints,  defendants  use  terms  like  "fair  share,"  "playing  nice  in  thesandbox,"  and  "responsible  competitor"  to  describe  how  they  unlawfullydiscouraged  competition,  raised  prices  and  enforced  an  ingrained  culture  ofcollusion.In  addition  to  Mississippi,  attorneys  general  from  Alaska,  Arizona,  California,Colorado,   Connecticut,   Delaware,   District   of   Columbia,   Florida,   Georgia,Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,  Nevada,New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  Mexico,  New  York,  North  Carolina,  NorthDakota,  Northern  Mariana  Islands,  Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania,Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina,  South  Dakota,  Tennessee,  Utah,  U.S.  VirginIslands,  Vermont,  Virginia,  Washington,  West  Virginia,  Wisconsin,  Wyoming,and Puerto Rico joined in announcement.

Original source can be found here.

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