Twelve pharmaceutical firms, including Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Glenmark, Sun Pharma and Zydus, are likely to face a probe in an alleged generic drug price-fixing conspiracy in the U.S.
This was evident from a statement the Office of the Attorney General of Washington State issued on Wednesday. “A wide-ranging antitrust investigation by Attorney General Bob Ferguson and 45 other attorneys general has uncovered even more involvement in an alleged generic drug price-fixing conspiracy,” it said.
‘Expand plaint’
The States have asked a federal court to expand their pending complaint, increasing the number of drug companies from six to 18, and the number of affected drugs from two to 15. Several States in the U.S. are “alleging that the companies violated antitrust laws to artificially inflate the prices of the drugs and agreed to divvy up the market for the drugs to reduce competition. Some of the drugs increased in price by more than 1,000 %.”
Revealing this, Mr. Ferguson said: “I hold powerful interests accountable when they don’t play by the rules. That includes drug companies that conspire to fix prices, costing potentially thousands of Washingtonians in need of medication.”
The request to file an amended complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, he said.
Previously, the suit named generic drug manufacturers Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc.; Citron Pharma, LLC; Mayne Pharma (USA), Inc.; Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., as defendants. The States are seeking to expand the complaint to include Actavis Holdco U.S., Inc.; Actavis Pharma, Inc.; Ascend Laboratories, LLC; Apotex Corp.; Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc.; Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.; Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Lannett Company, Inc.; Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc.; Sandoz, Inc.; Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.; and Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA), Inc.
The original complaint, filed on December 14, 2016, alleged that the companies entered into illegal conspiracies to unreasonably restrain trade, artificially inflate and manipulate prices and reduce competition in the U.S. for two drugs — doxycycline hyclate delayed release antibiotic and glyburide oral diabetes medication.
Mr. Ferguson said generic drugs, which enter the market after a name-brand drug manufacturer loses its exclusive patent rights, offer the prospect of lower prices and greater access to prescriptions for U.S. consumers. For drugs that attract a large number of generic manufacturers, competition between them can decrease the average price by 80% or more, compared to brand-name alternatives.
In 2015, generic drug sales in the U.S. were estimated at $74.5 billion and the generic pharmaceutical industry accounts for approximately 88% of all prescriptions written in the United States.
A spokesperson of Dr. Reddy’s said the company is “aware of the on-going investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) into this matter and the recent amended complaint issued by the Attorneys General of Connecticut and other States. The company intends to continue cooperating fully with all authorities on this matter. As it is sub-judice, [we] wish to refrain from further comment at this point in time.”
