Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and other state attorneys general filed the third lawsuit stemming from the ongoing antitrust investigation into 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.

This new complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, focuses on 80 topical generic drugs that account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States. The complaint names 26 corporate defendants and 10 individual defendants. The lawsuit seeks damages, civil penalties, and actions by the court to restore competition to the generic drug market. The topical drugs at the center of the complaint include creams, gels, lotions, ointments, shampoos, and solutions used to treat a variety of skin conditions, pain, and allergies.

“Today’s lawsuit is a continuation of ongoing efforts over the last several years to hold more than 60 total defendants, including pharmaceutical manufacturers and individuals, accountable for their alleged collusive conduct to control pricing on more than 200 generic drugs,” Attorney General Tim Fox said. “These investigations have uncovered what has been referred to as possibly the largest domestic corporate cartel case in the history of the United States, and rightfully so. In addition to its overarching impact on the pharmaceutical marketplace, this conspiracy caused vast harm to consumers who turned to generic drugs, trusting they were most affordable option available. These cases touch millions of American consumers, including Montanans, who used generics to treat everything from diabetes, to arthritis, to eczema. These individuals and companies must be held accountable for the harm they have caused,” Fox added.

The complaint stems from an ongoing investigation built on evidence from several cooperating witnesses at the core of the conspiracy, a massive document database of over 20 million documents, and a phone records database containing millions of call detail records and contact information for over 600 sales and pricing individuals in the generics industry. Among the records obtained by the States is a two-volume notebook containing the contemporaneous notes of one of the States’ cooperators that memorialized his discussions during phone calls with competitors and internal company meetings over a period of several years.

Between 2007 and 2014, three generic drug manufacturers, Taro, Perrigo, and Fougera (now Sandoz) sold nearly two-thirds of all generic topical products dispensed in the United States. The multistate investigation has uncovered comprehensive, direct evidence of unlawful agreements to minimize competition and raise prices on dozens of topical products. The complaint alleges longstanding agreements among manufacturers to ensure a “fair share” of the market for each competitor, and to prevent “price erosion” due to competition.

The complaint is the third to be filed in an ongoing, expanding investigation. The first complaint, still pending in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, was filed in 2016 and now includes 18 corporate defendants, two individual defendants, and 15 generic drugs. Two former executives from Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek, have entered into settlement agreements and are cooperating with the attorneys general working group in that case. The second complaint, also pending in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, was filed in 2019 against Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers. The complaint names 16 individual senior executive defendants. The States are currently preparing for trial on that complaint.

Corporate defendants: 1. Sandoz, Inc. 2. Actavis Holdco U.S., Inc. 3. Actavis Elizabeth LLC 4. Actavis Pharma, Inc. 5. Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 6. Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC 7. Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. 8. Bausch Health Americas, Inc. 9. Bausch Health, US LLC 10. Fougera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 11. G&W Laboratories, Inc. 12. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA 13. Greenstone LLC 14. Lannett Company, Inc. 15. Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 16. Mallinckrodt Inc. 17. Mallinckrodt plc 18. Mallinckrodt LLC 19. Mylan Inc. 20. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. 21. Perrigo New York, Inc. 22. Pfizer, Inc. 23. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. 24. Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. 25. Teligent, Inc. 26. Wockhardt USA, LLC

Individual defendants: 1. Ara Aprahamian, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Defendant Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A, Inc.

2. Mitchell Blashinsky, Vice President of Marketing for Generics at Defendant Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. from January 2007 through May 2012, and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Defendant Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA from June 2012 through March 2014.

3. Douglas Boothe, Chief Executive Officer of Defendant Actavis from August 2008 through December 2012 and the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Defendant Perrigo New York, Inc. from January 2013 through July 2016.

4. James Grauso, former Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Defendant G&W Laboratories from January 2010 through December 2011; the Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for Defendant Aurobindo from December 2011 through January 2014; and the Executive Vice President, N.A. Commercial Operations at Defendant Glenmark from February 2014 to the present.

5. Walt Kaczmarek, Senior Director, National Accounts, Vice President, National Accounts and Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations from November 2004 through November 2012 for Fougera Pharmaceuticals, a division of Nycomed US, Inc. (currently part of Defendant Sandoz, Inc.), and Vice President – General Manager, and President, Multi-Source Pharmaceuticals from November 2013 through August 2016 for Defendant Mallinckrodt.

6. Armando Kellum, former Vice President, Contracting and Business Analytics at Sandoz.

7. Kurt Orlofski, President and Chief Executive Officer from April 2007 through August 2009 for Defendant Wockhardt USA, and President of Defendant G&W Labs, Inc. from September 2009 through December 2016.

8. Mike Perfetto, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Defendant Actavis from August 2003 through January 2013, and the Chief Commercial Officer for Defendant Taro from January 2013 through his recent retirement from the company.

9. Erika Vogel-Baylor, former Vice President for Sales and Marketing for Defendant G&W Labs, Inc. since July 2011.

10. John Wesolowski, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for Defendant Perrigo since February 2004.

Drugs listed in the complaint as subject to price-fixing and market allocation agreements:

1. Acetazolamide Tablets 2. Adapalene Cream 3. Alclometasone Dipropionate Cream 4. Alclometasone Dipropionate Ointment 5. Ammonium Lactate Cream 6. Ammonium Lactate Lotion 7. Betamethasone Dipropionate Cream 8. Betamethasone Dipropionate Lotion 9. Betamethasone Valerate Cream 10. Betamethasone Valerate Lotion 11. Betamethasone Valerate Ointment 12. Bromocriptine Mesylate Tablets 13. Calcipotriene Solution 14. Calcipotriene Betamethasone Dipropionate Ointment 15. Carbamazepine ER Tablets 16. Cefpodoxime Proxetil Oral Suspension 17. Cefpodoxime Proxetil Tablets 18. Ciclopirox Cream 19. Ciclopirox Shampoo 20. Ciclopirox Solution 21. Clindamycin Phosphate Cream 22. Clindamycin Phosphate Gel 23. Clindamycin Phosphate Lotion 24. Clindamycin Phosphate Solution 25. Clobetasol Propionate Cream 26. Clobetasol Propionate Emollient Cream 27. Clobetasol Propionate Gel 28. Clobetasol Propionate Ointment 29. Clobetasol Propionate Solution 30. Clotrimazole 1% Cream 31. Clotrimazole Betamethasone Dipropionate Cream 32. Clotrimazole Betamethasone Dipropionate Lotion 33. Desonide Cream 34. Desonide Lotion 35. Desonide Ointment 36. Desoximetasone Ointment 37. Econazole Nitrate Cream 38. Eplerenone Tablets 39. Erythromycin Base/Ethyl Alcohol Solution 40. Ethambutol HCL Tablets 41. Fluocinolone Acetonide Cream 42. Fluocinolone Acetonide Ointment 43. Fluocinonide .1% Cream 44. Fluocinonide Gel 45. Fluocinonide Ointment 46. Fluocinonide Solution 47. Fluticasone Propionate Lotion 48. Griseofulvin Microsize Tablets 49. Halobetasol Propionate Cream 50. Halobetasol Propionate Ointment 51. Hydrocortisone Acetate Suppositories 52. Hydrocortisone Valerate Cream 53. Imiquimod Cream 54. Ketoconazole Cream 55. Latanoprost Drops 56. Lidocaine Ointment 57. Methazolamide Tablets 58. Methylphenidate HCL Tablets 59. Methylphenidate HCL ER Tablets 60. Metronidazole Cream 61. Metronidazole .75% Gel 62. Metronidazole .1% Gel 63. Metronidazole Lotion 64. Mometasone Furoate Cream 65. Mometasone Furoate Ointment 66. Mometasone Furoate Solution 67. Nafcillin Sodium Injectable Vials 68. Nystatin Ointment 69. Nystatin Triamcinolone Cream 70. Nystatin Triamcinolone Ointment 71. Oxacillin Sodium Injectable Vials 72. Phenytoin Sodium ER Capsules 73. Pioglitazone HCL Metformin HCL Tablets 74. Prochlorperazine Maleate Suppositories 75. Promethazine HCL Suppositories 76. Tacrolimus Ointment 77. Terconazole Cream 78. Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream 79. Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment 80. Triamcinolone Acetonide Paste

Fox and the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Territory of Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin filed the complaint.