Attorney General James Secures More Than $17 Million from Drug Manufacturers Bausch and Lannett for Conspiracy to Inflate Prices

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a bipartisan coalition of 47 other attorneys general in securing $17.85 million from drug companies Bausch and Lannett for their role in a massive, long-running scheme to inflate prices of generic drugs and reduce competition. The new settlements are part of an ongoing multistate litigation against dozens of companies for illegal agreements to fix prices for generic drugs. 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 register on the settlement website, check their eligibility, and submit a claim to seek compensation when the claims process begins.

“Access to affordable prescription drugs is a necessity for millions of New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. “After dozens of drug companies colluded behind the scenes to raise costs for consumers, my office is taking action to hold them accountable and get consumers their money back. I urge any New Yorker who may have been cheated by this scheme to submit their information to claim the restitution they are owed.”

New Yorkers who purchased a generic prescription drug listed here between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. Consumers can determine their eligibility by calling 1-866-290-0182, emailing info@AGGenericDrugs.com, or visiting www.AGGenericDrugs.com. 

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 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 formed the basis 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. For example, Digoxin, an essential heart medication manufactured by Heritage, tripled in price, causing patients to pay hundreds of dollars more for the drug. 

Lannett will pay $13,770,000 and Bausch will pay $4,080,000 under the two settlements, which will be distributed to impacted consumers across the coalition states. The companies will also implement internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws, including implementing an Antitrust Compliance Program with annual training of sales and management staff.

This is the latest settlement secured by Attorney General James and the coalition. In November 2024, Attorney General James and the coalition secured $49.1 million from Apotex and Heritage. As part of the settlement, both Apotex and Heritage will cooperate in the ongoing multistate lawsuits against 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives. Both companies will also make internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.

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. 

New York’s investigation has been led by Assistant Attorneys General Bob Hubbard, Saami Zain, Izzy Pitt and Ben Cole, and Legal Assistant Arlene Leventhal, 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 Jennifer Levy.