US: Justice Department may seek damages from generic drugmakers for price-fixing

According to Bloomberg, some generic drug firms are under pressure in response to a speech delivered by US Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust division chief Makan Delrahim at George Mason University’s law school. During the speech he said the DOJ may sue generic drug companies to recover damages over alleged pricey-fixing, adding that if taxpayers were overcharged due to collusion to raise prices, then seeking remedies may be appropriate.

If taxpayers were overcharged because drugmakers conspired to raise the price of drugs, the Justice Department will consider suing to seek damages, Makan Delrahim, the division’s chief, said in remarks Friday 19, at George Mason University’s law school in Virginia.

“To the extent that taxpayers have had to pay that bill, I think the taxpayers should recover,” he said. “We will get involved on the civil side and recover damages for the US government.”

Mylan, Teva’s, and Endo are among more than a dozen companies targeted by the Justice Department and state attorneys general in a multi-year investigation into generic drug pricey-fixing. So far, the probe has led to guilty pleas from two former executives of Heritage Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Emcure.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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