Attorney General Ashley Moody and 43 other attorneys general filed suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and 19 other generic drug manufacturers in federal district court in Connecticut for allegedly engaging in a broad conspiracy to reduce competition and restrain trade for more than 100 generic drugs. As a result of the alleged conspiracy, consumers and government purchasers in Florida, and elsewhere, paid more for generic drugs than they would have in a competitive market. The drugs at issue in the complaint account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Inflating and manipulating the pricing of essential drugs prescribed to those with chronic conditions is shameful. Routine health care can already be a burdensome cost for individuals, not to mention those suffering with life-altering and critical illnesses, and patients should not have to further worry about rising prescription drug costs of medicine they may desperately need. I am proud of my office for being one of the lead states in this ongoing investigation, and I hope this new complaint will help restore faith that drug pricing and our marketplace are both legal and fair.”
Rather than compete, the defendants allegedly chose to engage in a wide-ranging conspiracy to artificially maintain and increase prices for many drugs prescribed for and taken by Floridians to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, epilepsy, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, as well as medications used to treat various types of cancer, HIV, infections and depression.
Attorney General Moody is seeking damages on behalf of Florida consumers and public purchasers, as well as civil penalties and injunctive relief. By bringing this lawsuit, Attorney General Moody hopes to restore competition to the generic drug industry and provide Florida consumers with the lower costs that comes from a properly functioning competitive marketplace.
This complaint is the second filed as a result of the ongoing investigation in the generic drug industry being led by Florida, Connecticut and New York attorneys general offices. The initial complaint, filed in 2016, is pending in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. That complaint includes allegations of price fixing and market allocation in the generic drug industry for 15 drugs against 18 corporate and two individual defendants.
Attorney General Moody is joined in filing this complaint with the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.
To view the recent complaint, click here.
