20 States Accuse Generic Drug Companies of Price Fixing.
'The attorneys general in 20 states on Thursday accused six generic pharmaceutical companies, including the industry giants Teva and Mylan, of a scheme to artificially inflate the prices of an antibiotic and a diabetes drug.
The state officials said the charges were part of a broad investigation into potential price-fixing within the industry, suggesting that more charges could follow. The investigation, at the state and federal levels, has left a cloud of uncertainty over the industry, which has also been under a barrage of public criticism about its pricing methods.
The complaint filed Thursday describes a cozy industry culture marked by regular dinners and social outings that, the suit says, frequently crossed the line and violated antitrust rules. Generic drug makers that hoped to begin selling a new drug first sought out competitors, the suit said, in an attempt to reach an agreement on how they could avoid competing on price and keep market share.
“These agreements had the effect of artificially maintaining high prices for a large number of generic drugs and creating an appearance of competition when in fact none existed,” the lawsuit said.'>>>
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/business/generic-drug-price-lawsuit-teva-mylan.html?_r=0