Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of 45 states and territories, sought court approval of a settlement with Ascend Laboratories (Ascend), Citron Pharma (Citron) and Mayne Pharma (Mayne). The settlements will resolve allegations that the generic drug manufacturers engaged in a widespread, long-running conspiracy to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs.  

“As Americans continue to struggle with rising costs, generic drug companies colluded with each other to raise prices on needed medications for their own financial gain,” Raoul said. “I am pleased with today’s settlements and will continue to work with fellow attorneys general to hold drug manufacturers accountable for their unfair and unlawful practices.”

Under the terms of the agreement, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Ascend will pay approximately $400,000 and Mayne will pay approximately $650,000 to settle claims brought by state enforcers. Citron has agreed to non-monetary terms as it has ceased business operations. Each company has also agreed to meaningful injunctive terms, including a series of internal reforms to ensure fair competition with antitrust laws.

Today’s settlements come after Raoul and a coalition of nearly all states and territories filed three separate lawsuits against nearly 50 large generic drug manufacturers, alleging they engaged in a broad, coordinated and systematic campaign to conspire with each other to fix prices, allocate markets and rig bids for hundreds of different generic drugs. These lawsuits allege multiple conspiracies in which executives of competing companies would negotiate illegal agreements during industry dinners, trade shows and customer conferences. They also communicated via frequent telephone calls, emails and text messages, where they discussed allocating customers and coordinating price increases on the products they had in common. Throughout these conspiracies, defendants used terms like “fair share,” “playing fair” and “rules of engagement” to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices and enforced an ingrained culture of collusion.

The included drugs span all types, including tablets, capsules, suspensions, creams, gels and ointments, and classes, including statins, ace inhibitors, beta blockers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, contraceptives and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, used to 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%.

Raoul and the participating states have secured settlements with Sandoz, Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex and Heritage, and Heritage’s parent company, Emcure, totaling $496.5 million. These latest settlements come as the states prepare for an anticipated trial in 2027. Today’s settlements will resolve allegations against Ascend, Citron and Mayne while the cases against the remaining defendants continue.

Raoul is reminding Illinoisans who purchased a generic prescription drug between May 2009 and December 2019 that they may be eligible for compensation. To determine eligibility, individuals are encouraged to call 1-866-290-0182, email info@AGGenericDrugs.com or visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com. Claims for compensation can be submitted here. 

Joining Raoul in securing these settlements are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.