By Tiffany Williams –
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has joined a coalition of 45 states and territories seeking court approval of settlements with three generic drug manufacturers accused of participating in a sprawling price manipulation conspiracy. The agreements with Ascend Laboratories, Citron Pharma and Mayne Pharma would resolve allegations of artificially inflated prices, reduced competition and unreasonable restraints on trade involving numerous generic prescription drugs.
Under the settlements, Ascend will pay $400,000 and Mayne will pay $650,000 to the multistate coalition, a combined $1.05 million. Citron’s agreement contains only non-monetary terms because the company has ceased operations. The companies also agreed to injunctive terms, including internal reforms intended to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.
The new agreements follow settlements totaling $496.5 million with Sandoz, Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex, Heritage and Heritage’s parent company, Emcure. Consumers who purchased generic prescription drugs between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. Eligibility information is available at http://www.AGGenericDrugs.com, by calling 1-866-290-0182 or emailing info@AGGenericDrugs.com.
The litigation began in 2016 and now spans four complaints. The first covered Heritage and 17 other corporate defendants, two individual defendants and 15 generic drugs. Former Heritage executives Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek have since entered settlement agreements and are cooperating.
A second complaint, filed in 2019, targeted Teva Pharmaceuticals and 21 of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers, along with 16 senior executive defendants. A third complaint, scheduled to be tried first, focuses on 80 topical generic drugs accounting for billions of dollars in U.S. sales and names 26 corporate and 10 individual defendants.
The states filed a fourth complaint earlier this year alleging that Novartis AG, Sandoz Group AG and Sandoz AG are liable for Sandoz’s alleged conduct and fraudulent asset transfers. These claims form part of the broader litigation; the latest announcement concerns the three proposed settlements now awaiting court approval.
Investigators assembled more than 20 million documents and millions of telephone records, including contact information for more than 600 industry sales and pricing personnel. The complaints allege that competing executives cultivated illegal agreements through industry dinners, social gatherings, golf outings and repeated calls, emails and texts.
According to the complaints, defendants used phrases including “fair share,” “playing nice in the sandbox,” and “responsible competitor” to describe conduct the states allege discouraged competition and raised prices. Investigators also obtained a two-volume notebook containing a cooperating witness’s contemporaneous notes of competitor calls and internal meetings over several years.
In Massachusetts, Antitrust Division Chief Anthony Mariano and Deputy Chief Jennifer Greaney handled the matter. The coalition is asking the court to approve the settlement terms, while consumers are encouraged to check whether their purchases qualify for compensation.