TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi joined 19 other states in a federal antitrust complaint against six drug companies, alleging that they manipulated and artificially inflated the prices of two generic drugs.
The drugs named in the action are an antibiotic, doxycycline hyclate delayed release, and an oral diabetes medication, glyburide.
The antitrust action was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Auribindo Pharma USA, Inc, Citron Pharma, LLC, Mayne Pharma (USA), Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
An investigation into the companies' business practices revealed a "broad, well-coordinated and long running series of conspiracies to fix prices and allocate markets for a number of generic pharmaceuticals in the U.S.," according to the statement released by the attorney general's office Thursday.
The states also allege that the drug companies deleted "written communications" and avoided communicating with one another once they were made aware of the investigation.
The sum total of the companies' alleged activities represented a violation of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and state antitrust laws, according to the release.
Florida joins Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota in the antitrust action.
