TEHRAN, May 13 -US states have filed a lawsuit accusing drug companies orchestrating a sweeping scheme to inflate drug prices, sometimes by more than 1,000 percent, and stifle competition for generic drugs.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -The 20 drug companies engaged in illegal conspiracies to divide up the market for drugs to avoid competing and, in some cases, conspired to either prevent prices from dropping or to raise them, state prosecutors said on Saturday.
The 500-page lawsuit accuses the generic drug industry of a long history of discreet agreements to ensure that companies that are supposedly competitors each get a “fair share,” according to the complaint by 44 US states.
Generic drugs can save drug buyers and taxpayers tens of billions of dollars a year because they are a lower-priced alternative to brand-name drugs.
The situation worsened in 2012, said the lawsut, which was filed on Friday in the US District Court in Connecticut.
“Apparently unsatisfied with the status quo of ‘fair share’ and the mere avoidance of price erosion, Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States,” the complaint said.
In some instances, the coordinated price increases were more than 1,000 percent, the lawsuit said.
“Prices for hundreds of generic drugs have risen – while some have skyrocketed, without explanation, sparking outrage from politicians, payers and consumers across the country whose costs have doubled, tripled, or even increased 1,000% or more,” it said.
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