Teva Pharmaceuticals and Mylan accused of brazen price fixing

In an extensive investigation into generic drug prices, state attorneys general accused two industry leaders, Teva  Pharmaceuticals and Mylan and four smaller companies of engaging in brazen price-fixing schemes. They also promised to bring more charges against the drugmakers.

The two companies stood accused in a civil complaint filed by 20 states of conspiring to artificially inflate prices on an antibiotic and a diabetes drug, with coordination by executives,  through informal industry gatherings and personal calls and text messages. According to officials, the  case was a small example of broader problems in the drug business.

''We believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg,'' George C Jepsen, Connecticut's attorney general, whose office started the inquiry that led to the charges, said in an interview yesterday, The New York Times reported.

 ''I stress that our investigation is continuing, and it goes way beyond the two drugs in this lawsuit, and it involves many more companies than are in this lawsuit.''

The accusations, as also continuing investigations at the state and federal levels, had raised troubling questions about the state of affairs in the industry. While several other big generic drug companies had received subpoenas, it was unclear where the inquiries would eventually lead. 

Meanwhile, two executives of a small generic-drug maker were preparing to plead guilty to price-fixing charges and would cooperate with US  prosecutors examining allegations of widespread collusion among drug manufacturers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Jeffrey Glazer, a former CEO of Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc ex-president Jason Malek, were charged in Philadelphia court filings unsealed on Wednesday showed.

Each stood charged in a criminal information with two counts of conspiring with other drugmakers, which were not identified, to fix the prices of an antibiotic and a drug used to treat diabetes.

These were the first criminal charges arising from a sweeping two-year investigation of the generic-drug industry. The executives would plead guilty at a court appearance scheduled for 9 January, according to the people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported.