US: Fed lawsuit accuses 3 insulin manufacturers of conspiring to raise their prices 120%
A federal lawsuit is accusing three of the biggest drug manufacturers of insulin of conspiring together to raise their prices, but the pharmaceutical companies deny the allegations.
The lawsuit, filed on in January in a federal court in Massachusetts, said Sanofi SA, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly & Co simultaneously hiked the price of the drug.
Investment research firm SSR Health analyzed list prices for insulin from the three companies and found that the prices increased between 99 and 120 percent from 2012 to 2016, CBS News reported.
The lawsuit’s twelve named plaintiffs, residents of Georgia, Florida, California and Massachusetts who have diabetes, claim Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Lilly raised their public benchmark price for insulin products while maintaining a lower ‘true’ price they charged large pharmacy benefit managers like Express Scripts, CVS Health and OptumRX.
The pharmacy benefit managers act as intermediaries with health insurers and keep a percentage of the price difference, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs claim the alleged price-fixing scheme caused them to overpay for insulin.
According to the lawsuit, some skipped meals or underdosed their insulin because they could not afford treatment otherwise.
Others intentionally experienced severe diabetic complications to obtain insulin samples from emergency rooms, the complaint said.
Full Content: CBS News
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Biden Administration Supports Antitrust Suit Against FIFA
Mar 18, 2024 by
CPI
Apple in Talks to Incorporate Google’s Gemini AI Amid Antitrust Scrutiny
Mar 18, 2024 by
CPI
Appeals Court Revives Regeneron’s Antitrust Lawsuit Against Novartis Over Vision Treatment
Mar 18, 2024 by
CPI
Apple Responds to Criticism Over EU’s Digital Markets Act Compliance
Mar 18, 2024 by
CPI
Turkey Imposes Interim Measures on Meta Platforms
Mar 18, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Pricing Algorithms
Feb 28, 2024 by
CPI
Pricing Algorithms and Antitrust Enforcement: Sandboxes to the Rescue?
Feb 28, 2024 by
CPI
AI, Algorithmic Pricing, and Collusion
Feb 28, 2024 by
CPI
Competition & Collusion in a World of Algorithmic Pricing: Antitrust Risks & Enforcement Trends
Feb 28, 2024 by
CPI
Pricing Algorithms in Antitrust’s Sights?
Feb 28, 2024 by
CPI