States sue 20 generic drug companies and 15 executives for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for more than 100 drugs

A 44-state coalition of attorneys general is suing Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation's largest generic drug manufacturers alleging a conspiracy to increase prices and reduce competition for more than 100 generic drugs.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, also names 15 individual senior executive defendants, leaders of the conspiracy, who were responsible for sales, marketing, pricing, and operations. The drugs make up billions of dollars of sales in the United States, and the alleged schemes increased prices affecting the health insurance market, taxpayer-funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and individuals who had to pay artificially-inflated prices for their prescriptions drugs.

All types of drugs were included – tablets, capsules, suspensions, creams, gels, and ointments – as well as many classes of drugs – statins, ace inhibitors, beta blockers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, contraceptives, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The drugs treat a range of diseases and conditions from basic infections to diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV, ADHD, and more. In some cases, the coordinated price increases were more than 1,000 percent.

The lawsuit lays out an interconnected web of industry executives where these competitors met during industry dinners, "girls nights out," lunches, cocktail parties, and golf outings, and communicated by telephone calls, emails, and text messages that laid the groundwork for their illegal agreements. The lawsuit said defendants used terms such as "fair share," "playing nice in the sandbox," and "responsible competitor" to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices, and enforced a culture of collusion.

The lawsuit seeks damages, penalties, and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market.

"We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multi-billion-dollar fraud on the American people,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. “We have emails, text messages, telephone records, and former company insiders that we believe will prove a multi-year conspiracy to fix prices and divide market share for huge numbers of generic drugs.”

The drugs included in the lawsuit are ones that people rely on every day for acute and chronic conditions and diseases ranging from diabetes and cancer to depression and arthritis, said Tong.

“We all wonder why our healthcare, and specifically the prices for generic prescription drugs, are so expensive in this country – this is a big reason why,” he said. “This investigation is still in its early stages. We will not stop until these companies and the individuals who orchestrated these schemes are held accountable.” 

The lawsuit is the second to be filed in an ongoing investigation that the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office has referred to as possibly the largest cartel case in the U.S. history. 

The first lawsuit, pending in federal court, was filed in 2016 and now includes 18 corporate defendants, two individual defendants, and 15 generic drugs. Two former executives from Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek, have entered into settlement agreements and are cooperating with the attorneys general working group in that case, Tong said. 

In addition to Connecticut, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico joined the lawsuit. 

Corporate defendants

1. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
2. Sandoz Inc.
3. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.
4. Actavis Holdco US Inc.
5. Actavis Pharma Inc.
6. Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc.
7. Apotex Corp.
8. Aurobindo Pharma U.S.A. Inc.
9. Breckenridge Pharmaceutical Inc.
10. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc.
11. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. USA
12. Greenstone LLC
13. Lannett Company Inc.
14. Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
15. Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc.
16. Pfizer Inc.
17. Taro Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
18. Upsher-Smith Laboratories LLC
19. Wockhardt USA LLC
20. Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc.

Individual defendants

1. Ara Aprahamian, vice president of sales and marketing at Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc.
2. David Berthold, vice president of sales at Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. 
3. James Brown, vice president of sales at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. 
4. Maureen Cavanaugh, former senior vice president and chief commercial officer, North America, for Teva
5. Marc Falkin, former vice president, marketing, pricing, and contracts at Actavis
6. James Grauso, former senior vice president, commercial operations for Aurobindo from December 2011 through January 2014. Since February 2014, Grauso has been employed as the executive vice president, N.A. commercial operations at Glenmark
7. Kevin Green, former director of national accounts at Teva from January 2006 through October 2013. Since November 2013, Green has worked at Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. as the vice president of sales
8. Armando Kellum, former vice president, contracting and business analytics at Sandoz
9. Jill Nailor, senior director of sales and national accounts at Greenstone
10. James Nesta, vice president of sales at Mylan
11. Kon Ostaficiuk, the president of Camber Pharmaceuticals Inc.
12. Nisha Patel, former director of strategic customer marketing, and later, director of national accounts at Teva.
13. David Rekenthaler, former vice president, sales US generics at Teva
14. Richard Rogerson, former executive director of pricing and business analytics at Actavis
15. Tracy Sullivan DiValerio, director of national accounts at Lannett

Drugs listed in the lawsuit as being included in price-fixing and market allocation agreements:

1. Adapalene Gel
2. Amiloride HCL/HCTZ Tablets 
3. Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Chewable Tablets
4. Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine ER (aka Mixed Amphetamine Salts)
5. Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine IR
6. Azithromycin Oral Suspension
7. Azithromycin Suspension
8. Baclofen Tablets 
9. Benazepril HCTZ
10. Bethanechol Chloride Tablets 
11. Budesonide DR Capsules
12. Budesonide Inhalation
13. Bumetanide Tablets 
14. Buspirone Hydrochloride Tablets
15. Cabergoline
16. Capecitabine
17. Carbamazepine Chewable Tablets 
18. Carbamazepine Tablets 
19. Cefdinir Capsules
20. Cefdinir Oral Suspension
21. Cefprozil Tablets 
22. Celecoxib
23. Cephalexin Suspension 
24. Cimetidine Tablets 
25. Ciprofloxacin Tablets 
26. Clarithromycin ER Tablets 
27. Clemastine Fumarate Tablets 
28. Clomipramine HCL
29. Clonidine TTS Patch
30. Clotrimazole Topical Solution 
31. Cyproheptadine HCL Tablets 
32. Desmopressin Acetate Tablets 
33. Desogestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets (Kariva)
34. Dexmethylphenidate
35. Dextroamphetamine Sulfate ER
36. Diclofenac Potassium Tablets
37. Dicloxacillin Sodium Capsules 
38. Diflunisal Tablets 
39. Diltiazem HCL Tablets
40. Disopyramide Phosphate Capsules 
41. Doxazosin Mesylate Tablets
42. Drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol (Ocella)
43. Enalapril Maleate Tablets
44. Entecavir
45. Epitol Tablets
46. Estazolam Tablets
47. Estradiol Tablets 
48. Ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel (Portia and Jolessa) 
49. Ethosuximide Capsules 
50. Ethosuximide Oral Solution
51. Etodolac ER Tablets
52. Etodolac Tablets
53. Fenofibrate
54. Fluconazole Tablets
55. Fluocinonide Cream
56. Fluocinonide Emolient Cream
57. Fluocinonide Gel
58. Fluocinonide Ointment
59. Fluoxetine HCL Tablets
60. Flurbiprofen Tablets
61. Flutamide Capsules
62. Fluvastatin Sodium Capsules
63. Gabapentin Tablets
64. Glimepiride Tablets
65. Griseofulvin Suspension
66. Haloperidol
67. Hydroxyurea Capsules 
68. Hydroxyzine Pamoate Capsules
69. Irbesartan
70. Isoniazid
71. Ketoconazole Cream
72. Ketoconazole Tablets
73. Ketoprofen Capsules
74. Ketorolac Tromethamine Tablets
75. Labetalol HCL Tablets
76. Lamivudine/Zidovudine (generic Combivir) 
77. Levothyroxine
78. Loperamide HCL Capsules 
79. Medroxyprogesterone Tablets
80. Methotrexate Tablets
81. Mimvey (Estradiol/Noreth) Tablets
82. Moexipril HCL Tablets
83. Moexipril HCL/HCTZ Tablets
84. Nabumetone Tablets 
85. Nadolol Tablets
86. Niacin ER Tablets
87. Nitrofurantoin MAC Capsules 
88. Norethindrone/ethinyl estradiol (Balziva)
89. Northindrone Acetate
90. Nortriptylline Hydrochloride Capsules
91. Omega-3-Acid Ethyl Esters
92. Oxaprozin Tablets
93. Oxybutynin Chloride Tablets
94. Paricalcitol
95. Penicillin VK Tablets
96. Pentoxifylline Tablets
97. Piroxicam
98. Pravastatin Sodium Tablets
99. Prazosin HCL Capsules
100. Prochlorperazine Tablets
101. Propranolol HCL Tablets 
102. Raloxifine HCL Tablets
103. Ranitidine HCL Tablets
104. Tamoxifen Citrate Tablets
105. Temozolomide
106. Tizanidine
107. Tobramycin
108. Tolmetin Sodium Capsules 
109. Tolterodine ER
110. Tolterodine Tartrate
111. Topiramate Sprinkle Capsules
112. Trifluoperazine HCL
113. Valsartan HCTZ
114. Warfarin Sodium Tablets