Delaware’s Attorney General joined 19 other states Thursday in an antitrust lawsuit against six generic drug makers.
The lawsuit alleges the drug makers conspired to manipulate prices, restrain trade and reduce competition for two drugs.
One drug is a delayed-release antibiotic called doxycyclinehyclate. The other is an oral diabetes medication called glyburide.
Connecticut officials said an ongoing investigation there has uncovered evidence of a well-coordinated series of conspiracies carried out by senior drug company executives and their subordinate marketing and sales executives.
The lawsuit claims the drug companies knew their conduct was illegal and made efforts to avoid communicating with each other or conceal communications after becoming aware of the investigation.
The states are asking the courts to make the drug makers stop their alleged misconduct and to pay back any ill-gotten gains on the two drugs.
In addition to the State of Delaware, the plaintiffs include Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
