By Hank Russell
Attorney General Letitia James is calling on New York residents who may have paid more for generic prescription drugs between May 2009 and December 2019 to register on a settlement website and see if they are eligible for compensation. This comes after the AG’s office — along with 48 other attorneys general — secured $29 million from Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
According to the coalition, Glenmark took part in a long-running, coordinated scheme with other pharmaceutical companies to artificially inflate generic drug prices and reduce competition. The companies in the scheme, some of which increased prices by 1,000%, manufactured essential medications to treat diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer to ADHD.
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 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.
“Affordable generic drugs are a lifeline for New Yorkers with heart conditions, diabetes, and a range of other chronic illnesses,” James said. “Glenmark and other companies worked behind the scenes to boost their profits by illegally coordinating to raise drug prices, and now we are getting justice for the consumers who were harmed. I urge any New Yorker who may have been cheated by this scheme to find out if they are eligible for restitution and claim the money they are owed.”
Long Island Life & Politics repeatedly reached out to Glenmark, but did not hear back as of press time.
A list of the generic drugs can be found here. To determine your eligibility, call 1-866-290-0182 (toll-free), email info@AGGenericDrugs.com, or visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com.