The Attorney General’s office also secured a $760,000 settlement from Teva, Endo Pharmaceuticals and Teikoku in connection with the product Lidoderm, a medical patch to relieve pain caused by shingles. The settlement includes injunctions against pay-for-delay agreements between the pharmaceutical companies.
In a statement, AG Becerra said, “These dark, illegal, collusive agreements that drug companies devise not only choke off price competition but burden our families and patients—they force every Californian to shoulder higher prices for life-saving medication. It’s nothing less than playing with people’s lives. Californians shouldn’t have to pay an arm and leg to afford their prescriptions.”
In February, AG Becerra and Assembly member Jim Wood proposed AB 824 to prohibit pay-for-delay agreements between pharmaceutical companies. Their proposal also prevents the parties from using attorney-client and common-interest privileges to keep relevant information about their contracts.
