Attorney General James Secures Over $1 Million from Ascend Laboratories and Mayne Pharma for Illegal Scheme to Inflate Drug Prices
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a bipartisan coalition of 47 other attorneys general in securing $1 million from Ascend Laboratories (Ascend) and Mayne Pharma (Mayne) for their role in a long-running, coordinated scheme with other pharmaceutical companies to artificially inflate generic drug prices and reduce competition. The settlement is part of ongoing multistate lawsuits against dozens of companies that engaged in illegal agreements to coordinate the supply and sale of generic drugs to fix prices and boost profits. The companies in the scheme, some of which increased prices by 1,000 percent, manufactured essential medications to treat diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer to ADHD. Attorney General James is encouraging all New Yorkers who may have faced higher prices to submit a claim to receive compensation.
“Millions of New Yorkers depend on affordable generic drugs to treat heart conditions, diabetes, and a range of other health issues,” said Attorney General James. “These companies illegally colluded to raise generic drug prices and pad their profits at consumers’ expense. My office is taking steps to help the victims of this scheme get compensation, and I urge any New Yorker who may have been cheated to claim the money they are owed.”
New Yorkers who purchased a generic prescription drug listed on the settlement website between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. Consumers can call 1-866-290-0182, email info@aggenericdrugs.com, or visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com to determine their eligibility. Eligible consumers must submit their claim by March 8, 2027 to receive compensation. To submit a claim for payment, consumers can visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com and follow the directions to fill out and submit a claim online. Consumers can also request a form from the claims administrator directly by emailing info@aggenericdrugs.com, calling 1-866-290-0182, or mailing the address listed on the webpage.
The settlements are the result of three lawsuits filed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and a coalition of attorneys general against some of the nation’s largest generic pharmaceutical companies. The first complaint included 18 corporate defendants, two individual defendants, and 15 generic drugs. Two former executives from Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek, have since entered into settlement agreements and are cooperating. The second complaint was filed in 2019 against Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers. The complaint names 16 individual senior executive defendants. The third complaint, to be tried first, focuses on 80 primarily topical generic drugs that account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States and names 26 corporate defendants and 10 individual defendants. Six additional pharmaceutical executives have entered into settlement agreements with the coalition of attorneys general and have been cooperating to support the states’ claims in all three cases.
The lawsuits allege these companies engaged in a broad, coordinated, and systematic conspiracy to fix prices, avoid competition, and rig bids for more than 100 different generic drugs. The companies maintained an interconnected web of industry executives where these competitors met with each other during industry dinners, “girls’ nights out,” lunches, cocktail parties, and golf outings, and communicated via frequent telephone calls, emails, and text messages that sowed the seeds for their illegal agreements. Defendants used terms like “fair share,” “playing nice in the sandbox,” and “responsible competitor” to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices, and enforced an ingrained culture of collusion.
The drugs included in the scheme span all types – including tablets, capsules, creams, and ointments – and classes – including antibiotics, anti-depressants, contraceptives, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They treat a range of diseases and conditions from basic infections to diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV, ADHD, and more. In some instances, the coordinated price increases were over 1,000 percent.
Under the terms of the settlements, Mayne will pay $650,000 and Ascend will pay $400,000. Attorney General James and the coalition also secured a settlement with Citron Pharma (Citron) with non-monetary terms because the company has ceased business operations. The funds will be distributed to impacted consumers across the coalition states. As part of the settlements, the companies each agreed to a series of internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws, including providing an annual antitrust compliance training.
This is the latest settlement secured by Attorney General James and the coalition. Earlier this month, Attorney General James secured $400 million from Sandoz Inc. In July, Attorney General James and the coalition secured more than $29 million from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. In February, Attorney General James and the coalition secured $17 million from settlements with Lannett and Bausch. In November 2024, Attorney General James and the coalition obtained $49.1 million in settlements from Apotex and Heritage. As part of their settlements, Ascend, Citron, and Mayne will join Sandoz, Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex, and Heritage in cooperating with the coalition in the ongoing multistate lawsuits.
Joining Attorney General James in securing the settlements are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For New York, this matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Bob Hubbard, Saami Zain, and Ben Cole, and Legal Assistant Arlene Leventhal of the Antitrust Bureau, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Amy McFarlane and Bureau Chief Elinor Hoffmann of the Antitrust Bureau. The Antitrust Bureau is part of the Division for Economic Justice, overseen by Chief Deputy Attorney General Christopher D’Angelo and First Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
