Target, Lowe’s, American Airlines, more file price-fixing lawsuit against pharmaceutical cos.

Pharmaceutical price-fixing lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Target, Lowe’s, American Airlines, General Motors, Lumen Technologies and U.S. Foods filed a lawsuit against dozens of pharmaceutical companies. 
• Why: The employers claim the drugmakers engaged in an unlawful conspiracy to fix the price of hundreds of generic drugs. 
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania federal court. 

Target, Lowe’s and American Airlines are among a group of employers who filed a lawsuit against dozens of drugmakers they claim engaged in an unlawful conspiracy to fix the price of hundreds of different generic drugs. 

The employers claim Teva Pharmaceuticals, Mylan, Pfizer, Novartis and Taro Pharmaceuticals, among others, engaged in market and customer fixing and allocations while maintaining and/or stabilizing the prices of generic drugs since at least May 2009. 

The employers, which also include General Motors LLC, Lumen Technologies Inc. and U.S. Foods Inc, argue they’ve paid billions of dollars in reimbursements for generic drugs as a result of overcharges caused by so-called “fair share” agreements. 

“These agreements, which are illegal per se under federal and state antitrust laws, led to staggering price increases for critical medications and forced consumers and their health plans to shoulder the cost of defendants’ illegal activities,” the lawsuit states. 

Employers, consumers ‘shoulder cost’ of price-fixed generic drugs, class action claims

The employers, who say they self-fund their employee health plans, argue the drugmakers “systematically and routinely” colluded on bids, pricing and market entries and exits for a total of 227 generic drugs. 

The alleged price-fixing forced the employers and consumers to have to “shoulder the cost” of “staggering price increases for critical medications,” such as oxycodone, penicillin, gabapentin and adapalene, among others, according to the lawsuit. 

“Plaintiffs continue to be charged supra-competitive prices for the operative generic drugs they purchase as a direct result of defendants’ collusion and anticompetitive conduct,” the lawsuit states.

The employers claim the pharmaceutical companies are guilty of unjust enrichment and violations of the Sherman Act and numerous state laws. They demand a jury trial and injunctive relief along with an award of unspecified damages. 

A group of generic drugmakers agreed to pay a combined $45 million earlier this year to resolve claims they colluded to fix the price of a number of medications. 

Have you been overcharged for a generic drug? Let us know in the comments.

The employers are represented by Karma M. Giulianelli, Sundeep K. Addy and Lester C. Houtz of Bartlit Beck LLP.

The pharmaceutical price-fixing lawsuit is American Airlines Inc., et al. v. Actavis Holdco U.S. Inc., et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-01430, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

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