Press Release: 3/27/2025

AG's Office Seeks Preliminary Approval For $39.1 Million Settlement With Generic Drug Manufacturer Over Conspiracy To Inflate Prices And Limit Competition

 

Urges Consumers to Check Compensation Eligibility for Certain Generic Drug Purchases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

3/26/2025

MEDIA CONTACT 

Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary

 Phone

Call Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

 Online

Email Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at Sabrina.Zafar2@mass.gov

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) today joined a coalition of 50 states and territories in seeking preliminary court approval for a $39.1 million multistate settlement with generic drug manufacturer Apotex.   

The motion for preliminary approval of the multistate settlement was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut in Hartford. The settlement with Apotex follows a similar $10 million multistate settlement with generic drug manufacturer Heritage Pharmaceuticals (Heritage), which was announced in November 2024. The settlement agreements with Apotex and Heritage are part of the multistate coalition’s ongoing litigation related to alleged widespread, long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs. 

Those who purchased a generic prescription drug manufactured by Apotex or Heritage, listed here, between May 2009 and December 2019, may be eligible for compensation. To determine your eligibility, consumers should call 1-866-290-0182 (Toll-Free), email info@AGGenericDrugs.com or visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com.  

In addition to the money the companies have agreed to pay as part of the settlement agreements, both Apotex and Heritage have also agreed to cooperate in the ongoing multistate litigation against 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives. Both companies have further agreed to injunctive relief to prevent future misconduct and to a series of internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.  

Massachusetts is among a coalition of nearly all states and territories, that, beginning in 2017, has filed three antitrust complaints against pharmaceutical companies in relation to similar allegations of conspiracies to inflate prices and limit competition.  

In 2017, the coalition filed its first complaint, against Heritage, along with 17 corporate defendants and two individual defendants, in relation to 15 generic drugs. Two former executives from Heritage, Jeffery Glazer and Jason Malek, have since entered into settlement agreements and are cooperating with the plaintiff States.  

The second complaint 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 third complaint relates to 80 topical generic drugs that account for billions of dollars of sales in the United States. The third complaint names 26 corporate defendants and 10 individual defendants.  

Six additional pharmaceutical executives have entered into settlement agreements with the multistate coalition and have been cooperating to support the coalition’s claims in all three cases. 

In Massachusetts, these matters are being handled by Assistant Attorney General David Mlaver and Economic Analyst Christina Braeuning, both of the AGO’s Antitrust Division.   

Joining the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office in making this announcement are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.