Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Container filled with the generic drug 'Montelukast Sodium.' Photo: George Frey via Getty Images
Last year, we knew the multi-state lawsuit against generic drug manufacturers — alleging anticompetitive behavior like price-fixing and squashing generic competitors — involved at least a dozen companies and 15 drugs.
That has since exploded to include at least 16 companies and 300 drugs, the Washington Post reports. “This is most likely the largest cartel in the history of the United States,” Joseph Nielsen, Connecticut’s assistant attorney general, told the Post. The companies say the lawsuit has no merit.
We knew this could be big. Axios' Bob Herman reminds us that when state attorneys general opened the investigative floodgates last year, they warned:
“The Plaintiff States continue to investigate additional conspiracies…and will likely bring additional actions based on those conspiracies at the appropriate time in the future.”
The big picture: Government reports over the years have long sounded the alarm over “extraordinary price increases” among generic drugs. And as we recently reported, generic drugs are ripe for price games because of all the middlemen that are involved.
Go deeper: The drug pricing maze