Generic Drug Class Action Lawsuit Filed over Amitriptyline

A generic drug class action lawsuit has been filed by KPH Healthcare Services, Inc. also known as Kinney Drugs Inc., on behalf of a Class of direct purchasers of the generic drug amitriptyline.

The plaintiffs in this generic drug class action lawsuit seek to recover damages from the generic drug manufacturers who were accused of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act “by engaging in an overarching scheme to eliminate competition in the market for generic Amitriptyline and to artificially inflated prices through unlawful agreements.”

According to the generic drug class action lawsuit, the Class of purchasers had to pay more for the generic amitriptyline than they would have had to pay in the absence of the allegedly unlawful conduct of the generic drug companies when they violated antitrust laws.

“Defendants have collectively and unlawfully colluded to restrain and/or eliminate competition by engaging in an anti-competitive conspiracy designed to foreclose competition in the market for generic amitriptyline in the United States, in violation of Section 1 of Sherman Act,” the generic drug class action lawsuit states. “This misconduct able to each and every Defendant to overcharge direct purchasers for generic Amitriptyline.”

In 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division began investigating criminal conduct in the form of price-fixing conspiracy throughout the generic drug industry.  Generic amitriptyline is one of several drugs targeted by the investigation of the DOJ.

A congressional hearing investigation prompted by the National Community Pharmacists Association resulted in a news release stated that “Pharmacy acquisition prices for many essential generic drugs have risen by as much as 600%, 1000% or more, according to a survey of more than 1000 community pharmacists conducted by NCPA. The same survey found that patients are declining their medications due to increased co-pays (or total costs for the uninsured, and that trend has forced more seniors into Medicare’s dreaded coverage gap (or “donut hole”) where they must pay far higher out-of-pocket costs.”

Generic amitriptyline is the antidepressant drug discovered in the 1950s and FDA approved in 1961. It is included on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. In addition to treating major depression, amitriptyline is also used to treat anxiety disorders.

According to the generic drug class action lawsuit, the defendants in the case substantially increased the price of amitriptyline beginning in the summer of 2014 after an agreement to increase pricing and restrain competition. Between June and July 2014, different dosages of the drug increased in price up to 2560%.

Prices for generic amitriptyline increase without justification, the generic drug class action lawsuit states. As a result, the plaintiff, on behalf of the Class, alleges that the generic drug companies violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by raising and fixing the prices of amitriptyline prices throughout the United States.

The lawsuit seeks Class certification, permanent injunctive relief prohibiting the defendants from violating antitrust laws, that the acts be “adjudged and decreed to be unlawful restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Act, judgment for damages and other monetary relief including trouble damages, pre-and post-judgment interest, costs of suit and any additional relief deemed just and proper by the court.

The amitriptyline generic drug class action lawsuit includes Class members who purchased the drug from the generic drug company defendants named in the action between June 1, 2014 and the present.

The Amitriptyline Generic Drug Class Action Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-02480-CMR and is part of the Generic Drugs MDL In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2724,  in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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