A 44-state coalition had formed to pursue an antitrust lawsuit against 20 makers of generic drugs and 15 people, claiming the companies conspired to fix prices on more than 100 medications.

The lawsuit filed May 10 in Connecticut federal court alleges Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Pfizer Inc., Sandoz Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. and other companies conspired since at least 2012 to fix the prices on well-known drugs like Niacin ER tablets, warfarin, Omega-3 acid ethyl esters, statins and antidepressants.

The 524-page lawsuit includes emails, telephone calls and texts allegedly showing competitors working together to fix drug prices. Plaintiffs include Florida, Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Mississippi.

The generic industry has operated for years with an understanding “not to compete with each other and to instead settle for what these competitors refer to as 'fair share,' ” according to the lawsuit. “ By 2012, Teva and other co-conspirators decided to take this understanding to the next level. Apparently unsatisfied with the status quo of 'fair share' and the mere avoidance of price erosion, Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.”

The companies agreed to lead and follow each other's price increases, and did so with great frequency and success” at a cost of billions of dollars of harm to the national economy.

'Asking Questions'

Teva, Pfizer, Sandoz and Mylan are the four largest generic drugmaker defendants.

In a statement, Teva wrote it is reviewing the issue internally but “has not engaged in any conduct that would lead to civil or criminal liability.”

Sandoz also denied wrongdoing, saying in a statement, “We believe that these claims are without merit and will vigorously contest them.”

Pfizer, too, denied the allegations against its subsidiary, Greenstone, saying, “We do not believe the company or our colleagues participated in unlawful conduct and deny any wrongdoing.” 

Mylan Pharmaceuticals did not respond to requests for comment by deadline Monday.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said two attorneys in his office, Mike Cole and Joe Nielsen, began the investigation six years ago after reading a 2013 New York Times in 2013 about the price of the drug digoxin.

“They started asking questions and investigating back then,” Tong said. He called the alleged price-fixing “overt, blatant and undertaken utterly without shame.”

“They just did it like it's a regular part of their day, which is why we have been able to identify so much of the evidence through email, text messages and phone records,” he said. “They openly and continuously colluded with one another on price and market share.”

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Inflating and manipulating the pricing of essential drugs prescribed to those with chronic conditions is shameful. Routine health care can already be a burdensome cost for individuals, not to mention those suffering with life-altering and critical illnesses, and patients should not have to further worry about rising prescription drug costs of medicine they may desperately need.”

Moody said the lawsuit is a companion to another complaint filed in Pennsylvania in 2016 against 18 companies and two people alleging price fixing and market allocation in the generic drug industry for 15 drugs.

The AGs say they hope the lawsuit will help curb drug prices.

“It answers one of the basic questions we all have: … Why are our drug prices so damn expensive?” Tong said. “This is the reason. It's about price-fixing, collusion and market share.”