Mylan receives court summons from US Department of Justice
pharmafile | December 7, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Drug pricing, Justice department, Mylan, US Department of Justice, generics, investigation, subpoena
The US Department of Justice has contacted Mylan to make enquiries about the company’s pricing structure for antibiotic, doxycycline.
Mylan says the DOJ’s request centred on the “marketing, pricing and sale of our generic Doxycycline products and any communications with competitors about such products.”
It means the generic and specialty drugs firm has become the latest pharma company in the Justice Department’s crosshairs. Allergan received a subpoena from the department’s antitrust division (asking about drugs the company refused to name) over the summer
Smaller generic manufacturers have also received subpoenas. Par Pharmaceutical reported that it had received a subpoena for ‘communications with competitors’ about its generic doxycycline products, and its generic version of Covis’ Lanoxin. Par also received a request from the Federal Trade Commission for details of its deal with Concordia Healthcare for Par’s generic version of Concordia’s Kapvay. Two other firms, Impax Laboratories and Lannett, have also acknowledged being asked to submit info as part of the department’s ongoing probes into the price of generics.
The DOJ requests could lead to criminal investigations, and possibly heavy fines or jail sentences. The US Congress has also begun to look into the wider issue of drug pricing, after President Obama launched an Affordable Drug Pricing Task Force aimed at tackling the spiralling cost of certain prescription medications in the US.
This month Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill, who jointly lead the Senate Special Committee on Aging, will hold a hearing as part of a Senate probe into drug pricing. They have asked for information to be submitted from Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Turing made headlines for ‘price gouging’ for drugs for which there is little or no competition, and allegations of fraud and malpractice.
Lilian Anekwe
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