CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, along with a coalition of 48 states and territories, announced Tuesday settlements totaling $17.85 million with prescription drug companies Lannett Company Inc. and Bausch Health US LLC and Bausch Health Americas Inc. over alleged price-fixing and anti-competitive practices involving generic drugs.
The settlements resolve claims that the companies engaged in long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for numerous generic prescription medications.
As part of the agreements, both Lannett and Bausch have agreed to cooperate in ongoing multistate litigation against 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives. The companies also will implement internal reforms to ensure compliance with antitrust laws and promote fair competition.
“Today’s settlement is part of a long-running and on-going investigation into illegal actions by prescription drug companies, which have left consumers paying more and more for the medicines they need,” McCuskey said. “I am proud of the work being done by this bi-partisan coalition of attorneys general to go after companies that care more about their bottom line than the people they serve.”
The Lannett and Bausch settlements follow prior agreements with Apotex and Heritage totaling $49.1 million.
Consumers who purchased generic prescription drugs manufactured by Lannett or Bausch between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. Information on eligibility is available by calling 1-866-290-0182, emailing info@AGGenericDrugs.com, or visiting www.AGGenericDrugs.com.
In a related move, West Virginia joined a 42-state coalition led by Connecticut Attorney General to file a new lawsuit against Novartis and its generic subsidiary, Sandoz. The suit alleges the companies engaged in a systemic campaign to conspire with other manufacturers to fix prices, allocate markets, and rig bids for 31 generic drugs. The complaint further claims Novartis attempted to shield itself from liability by fraudulently transferring assets from Sandoz and spinning off the company.
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