COURT APPROVES SETTLEMENT REQUIRING MYLAN LABORATORIES TO PAY OVER $100 MILLION DUE TO ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES

Mylan is Required to Compensate Overcharged Purchasers of Anti-Anxiety Drugs Lorazepam and Chlorazepate

On February 1, 2002, Federal District Court Judge Thomas F. Hogan, from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, approved a $100+ million settlement reached among Mylan Laboratories and a number of co-defendants, and the Attorneys General of the 50 states plus the Federal Trade Commission. The settlement requires Mylan and its co-defendants to pay $71.8 million to consumers of the anti-anxiety drugs lorazepam and chlorazepate, an additional $28.2 million to state agencies, and an additional $8 million to compensate for costs and fees for the investigation and litigation in this matter.

The litigation arose because Mylan Laboratories, the manufacturer of lorazepam and chlorazepate, reached an agreement in November 1997 with the manufacturer of those drugs' active pharmaceutical ingredient so that only Mylan - and none of its competitors that sell other generic versions - could gain access to that ingredient. Shortly thereafter, in March 1998, Mylan raised the price of lorazepam by amounts ranging from 1,900 percent to 2,600 percent, depending on the bottle size and strength. For example, Mylan increased the price of a 500-count bottle of 1mg. lorazepam tablets from approximately $7.30 to $191 - with consumers paying even more at retail drug stores.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, released the following statement today about the Mylan settlement:

"This $100 million court settlement with Mylan demonstrates that drug companies' anti-competitive and price-gouging practices will no longer be tolerated. Such practices result in skyrocketing drug prices that make pharmaceuticals more and more unaffordable.

"Many other large drug companies are using similarly improper methods to artificially inflate pharmaceutical prices. These practices, which cost consumers billions of dollars each year and are already the subject of dozens of lawsuits, will only be stopped when court judgments hit the offending drug companies very hard in the pocketbook."

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

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