In addressing a mountain of price-fixing claims in the United States, Teva has shown a preference for dealing with charges on a state-by-state basis.
On Friday, when Teva agreed to settle with Georgia for $3.346 million, the company checked a third state off its price-fixing litigation list and then crowed about the success of its strategy.
“Teva is pleased to put these claims behind us, and we believe the modest settlement amount—in each of the three settlements to date—reflects our position on the allegations against us, which we continue to deny,” the company wrote in a release.
The agreement comes on top of settling price-fixing claims with Mississippi last year for $925,000 and with Louisiana five months ago for $1.45 million.
The figures are relatively modest compared to the $420 million Teva agreed to pay investors earlier this year who alleged that the company concealed a price-fixing scheme which allowed it to raise the cost of some of its drugs by more than 1,000%.
The allegations came to light three years ago when 43 states sued 20 generic drugmakers for divvying up markets and raising prices on more than 100 drugs, including those for HIV, ADHD and cancer.
In a 524-page multi-district lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged that deals were made at industry dinners, cocktail parties and outings, with Teva playing a leading role. At the time, a Teva spokesperson said the company would defend itself and that it "has not engaged in any conduct that would lead to civil or criminal liability."
Among other generics stalwarts named in the suit were Novartis’ Sandoz unit, Mylan (now Viatris) and Pfizer.
Last year, Sandoz agreed to pay $195 million to settle criminal claims and another $185 million to excuse civil claims in the price-fixing case, while Taro Pharmaceuticals of New York forked over a combined $419 million to get off the hook.
Teva also used a jurisdiction approach in dealing with opioid claims until July of this year when it proposed a nationwide $4.25 billion settlement.