Big Pharma Conspiracy Hiked Prices 1,000%, Being Sued by 44 U.S. States
A lawsuit was launches last week against some of the U.S.' largest generic drug manufacturers by 44 U.S. states. They stand accused of conspiracy to inflate prices, which in some cases rose to 1,000%. The lawsuit says:
Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States.
Prices for hundreds of generic drugs have risen — while some have skyrocketed, without explanation, sparking outrage from politicians, payers and consumers across the country whose costs have doubled, tripled, or even increased 1,000% or more.
Source
Among the list of 20 companies being sued is Pfizer, Teva, Novartis, and Mylan, and includes many senior executives who have allegedly delete evidence of their conspiracy after states began the investigation in 2014.
Connecticut led a probe into the dirty practices of these companies. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong released a statement saying:
"We have hard evidence that shows the generic drug industry perpetrated a multi-billion dollar fraud on the American people."
"We have emails, text messages, telephone records, and former company insiders that we believe will prove a multi-year conspiracy to fix prices and divide market share for huge numbers of generic drugs."
He also tweeted that is violates anti-trust laws.
"Our office is leading a coalition of 40+ states in a lawsuit against some of the largest generic drug makers alleging they fixed the prices of generic drugs to maximize profits. This is an organized effort to conspire and fix prices – a highly illegal violation of antitrust laws."
Source
Over 100 drugs are known to have been affected in the price rigging scheme of the big pahrma industry. The New York Times reported on some of the generic pills:
"including lamivudine-zidovudine, which treats H.I.V.; budesonide, an asthma medication; fenofibrate, which treats high cholesterol; amphetamine-dextroamphetamine for ADHD.; oral antibiotics; blood thinners; cancer drugs; contraceptives; and antidepressants."
All this price fixing among top pharmaceutical manufactures might explain why Americans pay the highest price for prescription drugs among industrialized nations. Joining the lawsuit on Friday was Colorado, with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser saying:
"The level of corporate greed alleged in this multistate lawsuit is heartless and unconscionable."
He also tweeted about the case where he announced joining other Attorney Generals in holding these companies accountable:
"If you are angry about rising drug prices, you should be. Particularly because a major cause of price increases is illegal collusion by generic drug companies."
Source
The 465-page lawsuit says drug company execs "coordinating consistently to obstruct" government investigations into their collusion. "Apparently unsatisfied with the status quo of 'fair share' and the mere avoidance of price erosion, Teva and its co-conspirators embarked on one of the most egregious and damaging price-fixing conspiracies in the history of the United States."
Let's see if this goes anywhere, as the previous AD of Connecticut filed a lawsuit in 2016. Of course as expected, big pharma denies any wrongdoing. This is how the legal game is played. Deny deny deny. Evidence is required. It's too bad that if you get caught lying there aren't harsher penalties. That might make guilty people more willing to admit guilt, rather than drag their guilty asses through the courts and drain public funds in the process.
References:
- Teva and Other Generic Drugmakers Inflated Prices Up to 1,000%, State Prosecutors Say
- Drugmakers allegedly inflated prices over 1,000% and 44 states are now suing
- Lawsuit by 44 States Accuses Pharma Giants of 'Multi-Year Conspiracy' to Hike Drug Prices by Over 1,000%
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Posted from KURE
Considering big pharma is the king pin and the courts provide the muscle to protect their profits im not holding my breath that an entirely rigged system is capable of dispensing any justice..
When everything is wrong where do you even start?
I saw add meds on the list. Isn't it amazing D-amphetamine "meth" is even an rx? The entire paradigm is dastardly from the foolish trust Americans given to doctors, to the fda clearing the way for drug rings to legally create dependence on street dope. Prisons filled with the non violent addicts the system enables for profit. There's nothing right happening as far as I see it.
Posted using Partiko Android
Yeah, the corruption of big business and the state to enable them is all around, only rarely does anything happen to stop the twisted web. Money rules, just like on Steem ;)
indeed I think the only thing that could displace money as king is clean water or a lack thereof..
I often post contentious things on steem for just that reason, I see such potential to unify people from all walks of life but instead it's just another pissing contest, for now anyway...
One big philanthropist whale could shake this place up...
Posted using Partiko Android
I wonder what crapitalists will say, perhaps they think that the free market would ensure that prices are competitive, as if businesses can't or won't do backroom deals like this and squash all competition ruthlessly.
Posted using Partiko Android
Indeed. Capitalism has it's limits. Check and bounds don't get imposed when money power surpasses the common drive of the people who act as market forces. Many people can't just stop buying the pills, so they can't exercise their power to. It would take honest businesses to compete, which isn't always going to happen.
I hate crony capitalism but I love real free market capitalism which does not exist in our world. Why? Because we are suppressed by tyrannies, crony capitalism, technocracy, globalism, monopolism, plutocracy, etc, etc.
Monopolism is a facet of free market, it comes with it. You love an ideal where wealth is somehow not concentrated to destroy competition and corner a market, even though that is exactly what is encouraged.
Monopolism comes from the black contracts between governments and technocracy. Most of Monopolism stems from families like Rothschild, Rockefeller, Clinton, Soros, etc.
The first monopoly was over olive presses, it was done simply to be achieved, by one individual. Monopoly is a consequence of the bottom line.
Posted using Partiko Android
I am against globalists. I am against people who try to kill a lot of people through geoengineering, mercury vaccines, 5G, debt, taxes, depression, Hollywood propaganda, leftist education, Jihadism, China, the big tech, the Soros Open Borders, authoritarianism, the cancer of federal government that grows and gets bigger and bigger like a plaque, the attack on the fourth amendment especially as privacy should increase with responsibilities, power, rights, liberties, freedoms, etc.
Thats good and well but in purely free market monopoly would be a natural response from improving on the bottom line. The first monopoly was after all simply a matter of one individual seeking to see what would be the consequences of cornering the market, which like he predicted, would be both extremely lucrative for the business and catastrophic for the public. The only thing that can correct it so far, is the public through the process of law.
Posted using Partiko Android
Steemit is a free market that you are on. Why are you on this evil free market Steem system?
Steem is closer to socialism than free market. You know how the reward pool functions, aka communal ownership.
Posted using Partiko Android
How is that not a free market? Have you not heard of supply and demand? Does every person get the same number of votes on Steem?
Communal ownership is not free market, that's communism / socialism. Everyone's votes not being the same is free market. If the reward pool wasn't shared it would be private ownership.
Posted using Partiko Android
In this communal ownership, why do I have so little and why do some people have so much? What happened to Venezuela?
Like I said, it's more socialist than free market, especially when you consider that rewards are distributed to those without any stake, but if the reward pool wasn't community property then it would be free market. You think that Venezuela is suffering from socialism but there are about a dozen so countries that are socialist because of the extensive social welfare programs that have had no such comparable economic downturn, they are Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Singapore, China, New Zealand, among others. Venezuela has been targeted by the world banking industry who refuses to do business with it and leverages their power against it through the use of NGO's and various economic warfare. Venezuela has been socialist for the better part of the 21st century. Again, going back to my initial remark, nothing stops people in capitalism to do backroom deals and collude against competitors and consumers, it should be expected as it all hinges on the bottom line.
Posted using Partiko Android
People need to stop coming into America because America sucks. People should try to get into Belgium or those other countries. Why are millions of people flooding the American borders, trying to invade the United States in 2019 like never before?
Great work! Thank you Sir.
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How do we stop Big Pharma? Sue the Hell out of them.
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