State AGs Secure $17.85M Settlements in Drug Price-Fixing Conspiracy

WA Attorney General News Releases

Filed February 2nd, 2026

Detected February 7th, 2026

Summary

Attorneys General from 48 states and territories announced $17.85 million in settlements with Lannett Company and Bausch Health for alleged drug price-fixing conspiracies. The settlements resolve allegations of artificially inflating prices for generic prescription drugs and require internal reforms. A new complaint was also filed against Novartis and Sandoz.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

Attorneys General from 48 states and territories have secured $17.85 million in settlements with Lannett Company, Inc. and Bausch Health US, LLC, and Bausch Health Americas, Inc. These settlements resolve allegations that both companies engaged in long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and restrain trade for numerous generic prescription drugs. This action is part of a larger antitrust enforcement effort against dozens of companies. The settlements also require both companies to cooperate in ongoing litigation against other defendants and implement internal reforms.

Regulated entities, particularly pharmaceutical and drug manufacturers, should be aware of this ongoing multistate enforcement action. The settlements include provisions for cooperation and internal reforms, indicating a focus on compliance and fair competition. Consumers and businesses in Washington and Idaho who purchased affected generic drugs between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. A new complaint has also been filed against Novartis and its subsidiary Sandoz, signaling continued scrutiny of the generic drug market. The first trial in the broader litigation is anticipated in late 2026.

Source document (simplified)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Feb 2 2026

Attorney General Nick Brown and a coalition of 48 states and territories today announced they have won $17.85 million in settlements with Lannett Company, Inc. (“Lannett”) and Bausch Health US, LLC and Bausch Health Americas, Inc. (“Bausch”), to resolve allegations that both companies engaged in widespread, long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition, and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs.

These agreements are part of a larger antitrust enforcement action against dozens of companies that conspired to manipulate drug prices. As a result of this conspiracy, consumers had to pay more than 10 times as much for some drugs, ranging from antibiotic ointment to cancer treatments.

As part of today’s agreements, Lannett and Bausch have agreed to cooperate in the ongoing multistate litigations against 30 corporate defendants and 25 individual executives. Both companies have further agreed to make internal reforms to ensure fair competition and compliance with antitrust laws.

The Lannett and Bausch settlements follow prior settlements with two other drug companies, Apotex and Heritage, which totaled $49.1 million. These settlements come as the states prepare for the first trial, which will likely take place in late 2026 in Connecticut.

“It’s hard to imagine more despicable corporate behavior than conspiring to raise the price of medicine for people who need it,” Brown said. “We will continue holding these wrongdoers accountable and secure restitution for Washington consumers and businesses.”

Washingtonians who purchased one or more of the generic prescription drugs at issue in the states’ cases between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. Impacted customers can call 1-866-290-0182 (Toll-Free), email info@AGGenericDrugs.com or visit www.AGGenericDrugs.com to determine their eligibility.

Washington and Idaho were the only states in the coalition which also secured restitution for businesses impacted by this conspiracy. Businesses in Washington that indirectly purchased (i.e., purchased the drug from someone other than the manufacturer), paid for, and/or provided reimbursement for some or all of the purchase price for one of more of the generic prescription drugs at issue in the states’ cases between May 2009 and December 2019 may be eligible for compensation. For more information, visit https://www.aggenericdrugs.com/English/CorporateEntities.

Brown was joined in the settlement agreement by the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.

Read the agreement here.

New Complaint

Also today, 42 states and territories filed a new lawsuit against Novartis and its generic subsidiary Sandoz alleging they conspired with other generic manufacturers to fix prices, allocate markets and rig bids for 31 different generic drugs. The complaint further alleges that Novartis took steps to fraudulently transfer and drain assets from Sandoz and spin off Sandoz to shield Novartis from liability in the three previously filed state antitrust complaints against the company.

This is the fourth complaint filed in this case. Washington is joined in this complaint by the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Read the new complaint here.

Case Background

The attorneys general partnered on three other lawsuits against generic drug manufacturers. The first case included Heritage and 17 other companies who allegedly fixed the price of 15 generic drugs. The second case focuses on Teva Pharmaceuticals and 19 of the nation’s largest generic drug manufacturers. The third lawsuit will be heard first and involves 26 companies fixing the prices on 80 topical generic drugs that account for billions of dollars in sales. Seven additional pharmaceutical executives have entered into settlement agreements with the states and have been cooperating to support the states’ claims.

The cases are built on evidence from several cooperating witnesses at the core of the different conspiracies, a massive document database of over 60 million documents, and a phone records database containing millions of call detail records and contact information for over 600 sales and pricing individuals in the generics industry.

The complaints allege that these companies coordinated their prices during industry dinners, "girls nights out", lunches, cocktail parties, golf outings and communicated via frequent telephone calls, emails and text messages that sowed the seeds for their illegal agreements.

Throughout the complaints, defendants use terms like "fair share," "playing nice in the sandbox," and "responsible competitor" to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices and enforced an ingrained culture of collusion. Among the evidence states collected is a two-volume notebook containing the contemporaneous notes of one of the executives that details his discussions with competitors and internal company meetings over a period of several years.

-30-

Washington’s Attorney General serves the people and the state of Washington. As the state’s largest law firm, the Attorney General’s Office provides legal representation to every state agency, board, and commission in Washington. Additionally, the Office serves the people directly by enforcing consumer protection, civil rights, and environmental protection laws. The Office also prosecutes elder abuse, Medicaid fraud, and handles sexually violent predator cases in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties.

Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.

Media Contact:

Email: press@atg.wa.gov

Phone: (360) 753-2727

General contacts: Click here

Media Resource Guide & Attorney General’s Office FAQ

News Releases 2026 News Releases 2025 News Releases 2024 News Releases 2023 News Releases 2022 News Releases 2021 News Releases 2020 News Releases 2019 News Releases 2018 News Releases 2017 News Releases 2016 News Releases 2015 News Releases 2014 News Releases 2013 News Releases 2012 News Releases 2011 News Releases 2010 News Releases 2009 News Releases 2008 News Releases 2007 News Releases 2006 News Releases 2005 News Releases 2004 News Releases 2003 News Releases 2002 News Releases 2001 News Releases 2000 News Releases 1999 News Releases 1998 News Releases 1997 News Releases 1996