Drugs

3rd Complaint Filed in Generic Drug Price-Fixing Case

Some 51 states and U.S. territories have filed their third complaint in Connecticut federal court stemming from an ongoing antitrust investigation into what is described as a “widespread conspiracy by generic drug manufacturers to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for generic drugs sold across the United States.” The complaint focuses on 80 topical dermatological drugs that account for billions of dollars in U.S. sales. The suit, which names 26 corporate defendants and 10 individual defendants, seeks damages, civil penalties, and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market.

Connecticut attorney general William Tong, who leads the coalition of states and territories, says the topical drugs include creams, gels, lotions, ointments, shampoos, and solutions used to treat a variety of skin conditions, pain, and allergies.

“These generic drug manufacturers perpetrated a multi-billion-dollar fraud on the American public so systemic that it has touched nearly every single consumer of topical products,” Tong says. “Through phone calls, text messages, emails, corporate conventions, and cozy dinner parties, generic pharmaceutical executives were in constant communication, colluding to fix prices and restrain competition as though it were a standard course of business. But they knew what they were doing was wrong and they took steps to evade accountability, using code words and warning each other to avoid email and detection.”

Tong said the states’ case is built on “hard evidence from multiple cooperating witnesses, millions of records, and contemporaneous notes that paint an undeniable picture of the largest domestic corporate cartel in our nation’s history.”

Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton’s responses on vaccines, contraception and abortion medication during her 9/24 Senate confirmation hearing raise concerns that ideology could influence her decision-making if she takes over the agency, MSNBC senior medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said Friday. Gupta was particularly critical of Overton’

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA commissioner nominee Heidi Overton emerged from her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday (see earlier story) without resolving questions about whether she has enough Republican support to advance — and with a rapidly narrowing window for confirmation before the midterm elections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing provided few

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA has classified Boston Scientific's recall of its Imager II Angiographic Catheters as Class I because a manufacturing problem could cause catheter tips to degrade and detach, potentially resulting in life-threatening complications. The agency announced the Class I classification 9/25, updating an Early Alert it issued

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome

FDA has approved Roche’s Gazyva (obinutuzumab) for reducing the risk of relapse in adults and children aged 2 and older with frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent, childhood-onset idiopathic nephrotic syndrome who are in remission. The expanded approval covers the use of the CD20-directed antibody beyond its existing

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome