U.S. charges generic drug firm Glenmark with price-fixing

[July 01, 2020]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Glenmark Pharmaceuticals USA was charged on Tuesday with conspiring to fix prices for generic drugs, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement.

Glenmark allegedly conspired with pharmaceutical maker Apotex Corp and other generic drug companies to increase the prices of cholesterol medication pravastatin and other generic drugs, the department said.

Glenmark said it strongly disagreed with the charge. "We will continue to vigorously defend against these allegations that we know to be false, and we are confident the overwhelming evidence will make that clear," the company said in a statement.

The charge was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

The price-fixing conspiracy allegedly took place from 2013 to 2015 and caused a loss to victims of at least $200 million, according to the department.

The charge against Apotex was resolved in May by a deferred prosecution agreement in which the company agreed to pay $24 million.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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