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The United States has filed a lawsuit accusing Teva Pharmaceuticals USA of orchestrating a massive program with 19 other pharmaceutical companies to inflate drug prices – sometimes by more than 1,000% – and stifle competition for Generic drugs, prosecutors said Saturday.
The surge in drug prices among generic and brand name drug companies has sparked outrage and investigations in the United States. Critics come from all walks of life, from Republican President Donald Trump to progressive Democrats, including US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is running for president.
The 20 pharmaceutical companies engaged in unlawful conspiracies to divide the drug market in order to avoid competition and, in some cases, conspired either to prevent prices from falling or to increase prices, according to the petitioner's complaint. 44 US states filed Friday in US District Court country in Connecticut.
A representative of Teva USA, a unit of the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, said it would fight the lawsuit.
"The allegations contained in this new complaint and, more generally, in the dispute, are only" allegations, "he said in a statement." Teva continues to consider the matter at hand. and has not committed any conduct that could lead to civil or criminal liability. "
The 500-page lawsuit accuses the generic drug industry, which sells mostly non-patented drugs and is expected to cost less, long-standing agreements to ensure that allegedly competing companies each get a "fair share".
The situation worsened in 2012, according to the complaint.
"Apparently dissatisfied with the status quo of the" fair share "and the mere prevention of price erosion, Teva and her co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging plots of fixation. of the history of the United States, "said the complainant. I said.
With Teva at the center of the conspiracy, pharmaceutical companies have agreed to significantly increase the prices of 86 drugs between July 2013 and January 2015, according to the complaint.
Representatives of Sandoz, another company named in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The drugs included everything from tablets and capsules to creams and ointments to treat diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, cancer, epilepsy and more, they said . In some cases, the coordinated price increases were over 1,000%, the prosecution said.
The prosecution also named 15 people as defendants who would have executed the daily operations.
"The degree of corporate greed alleged in this multi-party litigation is heartless and unacceptable," Nevada's Governor Steve Sisolak said in a statement.
According to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, more than half of the companies involved are based in New Jersey and five are involved in this state.
The lawsuit seeks damages, civil penalties and legal action to restore competition in the generic drug market.
Generic drugs can save drug buyers and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year because they are a cheaper alternative to the original drugs.
"Generic drugs have been one of the few" cases "of the US health care system," said the prosecution.
However, he adds, "the prices of hundreds of generic drugs have risen – while some have skyrocketed, without explanation, eliciting outrage from politicians, payers and consumers across the country, whose costs have doubled, tripled, even increased by 1,000% or more. "
Conspiracies of pharmaceutical companies have resulted in consumers and states paying "substantially inflated and anti-competitive prices for many generic drugs" while pharmaceutical companies have benefited.
The complaint filed Friday is parallel to an action brought in December 2016 by the attorneys general of 45 states and the District of Columbia. This case was later extended to more than a dozen drug manufacturers.
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