NC -- February 4, 2026z; North Carolina residents may see some financial relief after North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced a $17.85 million settlement with two companies over generic drug price fixing. The state is also pursuing a lawsuit against two additional companies, alleging similar price collusion that impacted consumers in the region.
The settlements involve Lannett Company, Inc. and Bausch Health companies. The allegations state that these companies participated in conspiracies to inflate and manipulate prices for generic prescription drugs, reducing competition between May 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019. As part of the settlement, both companies will cooperate with ongoing investigations and implement business changes to ensure antitrust compliance.
A new lawsuit has been filed against Novartis and its subsidiary Sandoz. The lawsuit alleges that these companies conspired with other manufacturers to fix prices, allocate markets, and rig bids on 31 generic drugs. It is alleged that Novartis attempted to shield itself by transferring assets and spinning off Sandoz.
The settlements with Lannett and Bausch to resolve allegations that the companies engaged in widespread, long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade for many generic prescription drugs. Both companies have agreed to cooperate in the ongoing multistate cases against 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives and have agreed to make business changes to ensure fair competition and comply with antitrust law. North Carolinians who purchased generic prescription drugs made by Lannett or Bausch between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. To determine your eligibility, call 1-866-290-0182 (Toll-Free), emailinfo@AGGenericDrugs.com or visitwww.AGGenericDrugs.com.
Ongoing Efforts
These actions build upon ongoing antitrust cases. These include the Heritage Pharmaceuticals case, a 2019 case against Teva and other manufacturers, and an upcoming trial against multiple corporations and individuals regarding topical generic drugs. These investigations rely on cooperating witnesses, documents, and phone records.
The Attorney General's office stated that it will not allow drugmakers to fix prices and make North Carolinians pay more than they should for their medicines. The office aims to ensure fair competition and costs for prescription drugs.
WNCTimes