Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and other Indian pharmaceutical firm Aurobindo Pharma vowed to defend themselves in the lawsuit filed recently by over forty States in the U.S. accusing them and many other drug makers of fixing prices of generic drugs.
DRL said the Attorney General of 49 U.S. States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia on May 10 had filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against 21 generic pharma firms, including DRL’s U.S. subsidiary, and fifteen other individual defendants, with respect to 116 generic drugs. The complaint said those accused had engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices and to allocate bids and customers in the U.S. in the sale of the drugs. Dr. Reddy’s said the U.S. arm was “specifically named as a defendant with respect to five generic drugs for an alleged overarching conspiracy.”
All cases related to lawsuits by Attornies General lawsuits and certain private plaintiffs class action suits would be consolidated in the multi district litigation ‘in re generics pharmaceuticals antitrust pricing litigation’.
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Dr. Reddy’s said it intended to “vigorously defend against these allegations and is in the process of filing our response...” Sun Pharma said the allegations made were without merit and that its subsidiary Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, among those charged, will continue to vigorously defend against charges. Wockhardt said it had already denied the accusation. In its 2017-18 annual report, it had said: “We see minimal exposure (actual or threatened) as the matter is currently being argued in USA by our legal and regulatory personnel…”
Pointing out the history of the case from December 2016, Aurobindo Pharma said the Second State AG Action on Friday included additional parties and additional products not referenced in the First State AG Action. “We expect we will be filing papers with the Federal Court... denying each of the relevant accusations,” it said.
Zydus Wellness informed the exchange that the clarification sought pertained to Cadila Healthcare, the parent Company. A foreign news agency report last week, quoting State prosecutors, said the U.S. states had filed a lawsuit accusing Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. of “orchestrating a sweeping scheme with 19 other drug companies to inflate drug prices — sometimes by more than 1,000% — and stifle competition for generic drugs.
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Pharma stocks were battered on Monday and rebounded on Tuesday.