The U.S. Justice Department charged Glenmark Pharmaceuticals with conspiring with other generic drug companies to increase and hold prices for the cholesterol drug pravastatin between May 2013 and December 2015.
Hector Armando Kellum, a former senior executive with the Novartis subsidiary Sandoz, pleaded guilty for his role in a price-fixing scheme for generic drugs developed by his company.
Teva and Novartis’ Sandoz are contesting charges stemming from a multi-state lawsuit alleging that a number of generic drugmakers conspired to manipulate prices on more than 100 drugs.
Novartis said claims of price fixing against the drugmaker’s Sandoz generics unit amid a U.S. probe of 20 drugmakers are without merit, with the Swiss company vowing to fight allegations in a lawsuit.
U.S. states filed a lawsuit accusing Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. of orchestrating a sweeping scheme with 19 other drug companies to inflate drug prices – sometimes by more than 1,000 percent – and stifle competition for generic drugs, state prosecutors said.