Ohio joins price-fixing lawsuit against generic drug makers

Attorneys general from more than 40 states, including Ohio, are alleging the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers conspired to artificially inflate and manipulate prices for more than 100 generic drugs, including treatments for diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and other medical conditions (Source: “States bring price fixing suit against generic drug makers,” Toledo Blade, May 13, 2019).

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Connecticut on Friday, also names 15 individual senior executives responsible for sales, marketing, and pricing.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Monday the state would join 44 others in the lawsuit.

“Ohioans who need medicine might think generic drugs would be their cheapest option — but some manufacturers have rigged the systems to avoid competition,” Mr. Yost said in the statement. “That's not how a free market works, and the conspiracy to avoid competition makes prices higher — and it’s against the law. This lawsuit is the prescription for lower medicine prices in a free market.”