(Photo: Allison Bell/TA)
Shares of some of the world's biggest makers of generic drugs dropped Monday, following a new lawsuit by over 40 states accusing the companies of conspiring to fix the price of more than 100 different products in the U.S.
Mylan NV, Novartis AG's Sandoz unit, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. were among the 20 drugmakers and subsidiaries sued by state attorneys general. More than a dozen executives from the companies were also named in the civil complaint, which was filed in federal court in Connecticut.
The filing is an expansion of a 2016 suit by many of the states, and the Justice Department's antitrust division is also conducting a criminal investigation. The Justice Department unit's chief Makan Delrahim said in April that charges would be filed, without specifying timing.
Mylan fell as much as 6% and Teva's American depositary receipts lost as much as 12%. Shares of Novartis, Allergan Plc, Lupin Ltd., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and other companies named in the suit dropped as well, amid broader declines in a market already under pressure from fraying trade ties between the U.S. and China.
