This morning, it was reported to CTC that KPH Healthcare has brought Antitrust Class Action lawsuits against three companies, Akorn, Inc., Fougera Pharmaceuticals, and Actavis HoldCo, for the alleged act of conspiring to raise and fix the prices of generic drugs.

What It Is…

According to the FTC “Price Fixing” is an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors that raises, lowers, or stabilizes prices or competitive terms. Generally, the antitrust laws require that each company establish prices and other terms on its own, without agreeing with a competitor. When consumers make choices about what products and services to buy, they expect that the price has been determined freely on the basis of supply and demand, not by an agreement among competitors. When competitors agree to restrict competition, the result is often higher prices. Accordingly, price fixing is a major concern of government antitrust enforcement.

What May Happen…

A defendant is allowed to argue that there was no agreement, but if the government or a private party proves a plain price-fixing agreement, there is no defense to it. Defendants may not justify their behavior by arguing that the prices were reasonable to consumers, were necessary to avoid cut-throat competition, or stimulated competition. For example, if a group of competing optometrists agreed not to participate in a vision care network unless the network raised reimbursement rates for patients covered by its plan. The optometrists refused to treat patients covered by the network plan, and, eventually, the company raised reimbursement rates. The FTC said that the optometrists’ agreement was illegal price fixing, and that its leaders had organized an effort to make sure other optometrists knew about and complied with the agreement.

Though we normally feature every case complaint we report on, for sake of timeliness and brevity we are only opting to post one of the three complaints. All are very similar, putting forth (more or less) the same allegations. If you would like to read or have access to one of the other complaints, please contact us at considertheconsumer@gmail.com and request whichever one you’d like.

Below is the case KPH Healthcare brought against Fougera:

If any of these allegations have affected you or your well being, please contact us immediately!