Michigan AG Nessel Joins Coalition of 44 Attorneys General in Antitrust Lawsuit Against Generic Drug Manufacturers
Michigan Attorney General sent this bulletin at 05/12/2019 07:29 PM EDTMEDIA CONTACT:
Kelly Rossman-McKinney
(o) 517-335-7666 (c) 517-512-9342
Dan Olsen
(o) 517-335-7666 (c) 517-290-7807
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Michigan AG Nessel Joins Coalition of 44 Attorneys General in Antitrust Lawsuit Against Generic Drug Manufacturers
Second Lawsuit Filed in Ongoing, Expanding Investigation
LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 44 attorneys general in announcing a lawsuit against Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers, alleging a broad conspiracy to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition and unreasonably restrain trade for more than 100 different generic drugs.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, seeks damages, civil penalties and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market.
The lawsuit also names 15 individual senior executive defendants at the heart of the alleged conspiracy who were responsible for sales, marketing, pricing and operations. The defendants’ drugs account for billions of dollars in sales in the country, and the alleged schemes increased prices affecting the health insurance market, taxpayer-funded health care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and individuals who must pay artificially inflated prices for their prescription drugs.
The complaint alleges that Teva, Sandoz, Mylan, Pfizer and 16 other generic drug manufacturers engaged in a broad, coordinated and systematic campaign to conspire with each other to fix prices, allocate markets and rig bids for more than 100 different generic drugs. The drugs span all types, including tablets, capsules, suspensions, creams, gels, ointments, and classes, including statins, ace inhibitors, beta blockers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, contraceptives, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and treat a range of diseases and conditions from basic infections to diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV, ADHD, and more. In some instances, the coordinated price increases were more than 1,000 percent.
The complaint outlines an interconnected web of industry executives who met with each other during industry dinners, lunches, cocktail parties, golf outings and communicated via frequent phone calls, emails and texts to sow the seeds for their illegal agreements. Throughout the complaint, defendants use terms like "fair share," "playing nice in the sandbox," and "responsible competitor" to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices and enforced an ingrained culture of collusion.
“Each day, people across the U.S. turn to generic drugs as an affordable alternative to name-brand medication,” Nessel said. “Michigan patients count on drug manufacturers to keep their prices affordable for life-saving medications. And when they don’t, when they collude to raise prices and line their pockets at the expense of the health and well-being of our residents, my office will hold them accountable.”
This is the second complaint to be filed in an ongoing and expanding investigation that has been referred to as possibly the largest cartel case in the history of the United States. The first complaint, still pending in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, was filed in 2016 and now includes 18 corporate defendants, two individual defendants, and 15 generic drugs. Two former executives from Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek, have entered into settlement agreements and are cooperating with the Attorneys General working group in that case.
In addition to Michigan, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, 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 joined the suit.
Corporate Defendants
- Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
- Sandoz, Inc.
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Actavis Holdco US, Inc.
- Actavis Pharma, Inc.
- Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Apotex Corp.
- Aurobindo Pharma U.S.A., Inc.
- Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc.
- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc.
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. USA
- Greenstone LLC
- Lannett Company, Inc.
- Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc.
- Pfizer, Inc.
- Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
- Upsher-Smith Laboratories, LLC
- Wockhardt USA, LLC
- Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc.
Individual defendants
- Ara Aprahamian, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A, Inc.
- David Berthold, Vice President of Sales at Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- James Brown, Vice President of Sales at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Maureen Cavanaugh, former Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, North America, for Teva
- Marc Falkin, former Vice President, Marketing, Pricing and Contracts at Actavis
- James Grauso, former Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Aurobindo from December 2011 through January 2014. Since February 2014, Grauso has been employed as the Executive Vice President, N.A. Commercial Operations at Glenmark
- Kevin Green, former Director of National Accounts at Teva from January 2006 through October 2013. Since November 2013, Green has worked at Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. as the Vice President of Sales
- Armando Kellum, former Vice President, Contracting and Business Analytics at Sandoz
- Jill Nailor, Senior Director of Sales and National Accounts at Greenstone
- James Nesta, Vice President of Sales at Mylan
- Kon Ostaficiuk, the President of Camber Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Nisha Patel, former Director of Strategic Customer Marketing and later, Director of National Accounts at Teva.
- David Rekenthaler, former Vice President, Sales US Generics at Teva
- Richard Rogerson, former Executive Director of Pricing and Business Analytics at Actavis
- Tracy Sullivan DiValerio, Director of National Accounts at Lannett
Drugs listed in the complaint as subject to price-fixing and market allocation agreements:
- Adapalene Gel
- Amiloride HCL/HCTZ Tablets
- Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Chewable Tablets
- Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine ER (aka Mixed Amphetamine Salts)
- Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine IR
- Azithromycin Oral Suspension
- Azithromycin Suspension
- Baclofen Tablets
- Benazepril HCTZ
- Bethanechol Chloride Tablets
- Budesonide DR Capsules
- Budesonide Inhalation
- Bumetanide Tablets
- Buspirone Hydrochloride Tablets
- Cabergoline
- Capecitabine
- Carbamazepine Chewable Tablets
- Carbamazepine Tablets
- Cefdinir Capsules
- Cefdinir Oral Suspension
- Cefprozil Tablets
- Celecoxib
- Cephalexin Suspension
- Cimetidine Tablets
- Ciprofloxacin Tablets
- Clarithromycin ER Tablets
- Clemastine Fumarate Tablets
- Clomipramine HCL
- Clonidine TTS Patch
- Clotrimazole Topical Solution
- Cyproheptadine HCL Tablets
- Desmopressin Acetate Tablets
- Desogestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (Kariva)
- Dexmethylphenidate
- Dextroamphetamine Sulfate ER
- Diclofenac Potassium Tablets
- Dicloxacillin Sodium Capsules
- Diflunisal Tablets
- Diltiazem HCL Tablets
- Disopyramide Phosphate Capsules
- Doxazosin Mesylate Tablets
- Drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol (Ocella)
- Enalapril Maleate Tablets
- Entecavir
- Epitol Tablets
- Estazolam Tablets
- Estradiol Tablets
- Ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel (Portia and Jolessa)
- Ethosuximide Capsules
- Ethosuximide Oral Solution
- Etodolac ER Tablets
- Etodolac Tablets
- Fenofibrate
- Fluconazole Tablets
- Fluocinonide Cream
- Fluocinonide Emolient Cream
- Fluocinonide Gel
- Fluocinonide Ointment
- Fluoxetine HCL Tablets
- Flurbiprofen Tablets
- Flutamide Capsules
- Fluvastatin Sodium Capsules
- Gabapentin Tablets
- Glimepiride Tablets
- Griseofulvin Suspension
- Haloperidol
- Hydroxyurea Capsules
- Hydroxyzine Pamoate Capsules
- Irbesartan
- Isoniazid
- Ketoconazole Cream
- Ketoconazole Tablets
- Ketoprofen Capsules
- Ketorolac Tromethamine Tablets
- Labetalol HCL Tablets
- Lamivudine/Zidovudine (generic Combivir)
- Levothyroxine
- Loperamide HCL Capsules
- Medroxyprogesterone Tablets
- Methotrexate Tablets
- Mimvey (Estradiol/Noreth) Tablets
- Moexipril HCL Tablets
- Moexipril HCL/HCTZ Tablets
- Nabumetone Tablets
- Nadolol Tablets
- Niacin ER Tablets
- Nitrofurantoin MAC Capsules
- Norethindrone/ethinyl estradiol (Balziva)
- Northindrone Acetate
- Nortriptylline Hydrochloride Capsules
- Omega-3-Acid Ethyl Esters
- Oxaprozin Tablets
- Oxybutynin Chloride Tablets
- Paricalcitol
- Penicillin VK Tablets
- Pentoxifylline Tablets
- Piroxicam
- Pravastatin Sodium Tablets
- Prazosin HCL Capsules
- Prochlorperazine Tablets
- Propranolol HCL Tablets
- Raloxifine HCL Tablets
- Ranitidine HCL Tablets
- Tamoxifen Citrate Tablets
- Temozolomide
- Tizanidine
- Tobramycin
- Tolmetin Sodium Capsules
- Tolterodine ER
- Tolterodine Tartrate
- Topiramate Sprinkle Capsules
- Trifluoperazine HCL
- Valsartan HCTZ
- Warfarin Sodium Tablets
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