South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces the state will receive almost $300,000 as part of a settlement with global health company Apotex and Teva Pharmaceuticals to resolve allegations of generic drug price-fixing.
Attorneys General in 50 states and territories have reached agreement with Apotex for $39.1 million.
“These companies were deceiving the public with their business practices,” said Attorney General Jackley. “They were working together to control the cost of generic drugs and forcing South Dakotans to pay higher prices.”
A similar complaint was filed in 2019 against Teva Pharmaceuticals. South Dakota this year received $277,000 from that settlement. The money from those two settlements will go to the state’s Anti-Trust Fund located in the Attorney General’s Office.
“These settlements prohibit the companies from using monopolistic and anti-competitive practices to inflate the costs of the generic drugs,” said Attorney General Jackley. “That should result in a savings to consumers when they purchase the affected generic drugs.”
Other Attorneys General involved in the settlement are from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 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, Tennessee, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.