|
 The two men are in talks with the government about a plea agreement,
according to a source close to the negotiations who was not
authorized to discuss the matter.
The executives, Jeffrey Glazer and Jason Malek, were charged in
Philadelphia with conspiring to fix the prices of an antibiotic,
doxycycline hyclate, and to split up the market for glyburide, a
diabetes drug, the Justice Department said.
Their former employer, Heritage Pharmaceuticals, filed a lawsuit
against them in August, saying in a complaint they were behind a
"brazen theft" and "looted tens of millions of dollars from Heritage
by misappropriating its business opportunities, fraudulently
obtaining compensation for themselves, and embezzling its
intellectual property."
Glazer and Malek were not immediately reachable, and their attorneys
did not respond to a request for comment.
Generic drug pricing became an issue in 2014, driven in large part
by media reports of rising drug prices.
In 2014, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Maryland Representative
Elijah Cummings launched their own probe into skyrocketing generic
prices. They sent 17 letters to companies to inquire about price
increases for 10 drugs.
According to the FDA's website, Heritage makes extended release
doxycycline hyclate. Other makers include Mylan NV, Actavis, now
owned by Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc, Mayne Pharma Group and Prinston
Pharma.
Heritage also makes glyburide tablets, which are also made by
Pharmadax, Teva and Zydus. Heritage makes glyburide with metformin
hydrochloride, as do Aurobindo, Impax, Zydus, Corepharma and Teva,
according to the website.
Other generic drugmakers have disclosed they received subpoenas in
connection to the Justice probe or have been previously reported to
have been included in the antitrust probe.
[to top of second column] |
Heritage was among the companies that received a congressional
inquiry over its pricing for doxycycline hyclate.
Other companies in the congressional probe have since publicly
disclosed receiving subpoenas, including Mylan NV, Allergan, which
later sold its generics business to Teva, Lannett Co, Impax
Laboratories, Par Pharmaceuticals, which is owned by Endo
Pharmaceuticals, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Taro Pharmaceuticals
Ltd and Mayne, which purchased a portfolio of drugs from Allergan
and Teva.
Shares of generic drugmakers including Mylan, Endo and Teva tumbled
after Bloomberg first reported that charges had been filed and
included those names.
(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru, Sarah N. Lynch
in Washington and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr
and Peter Cooney)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
