It's been nearly seven years since former Mylan President Rajiv Malik was first implicated in an industrywide generic drug price-fixing investigation. And, while he's since retired from the drugmaker, Malik—and Mylan—can now put a key piece of the legal fight in the rearview mirror.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has informed Viatris, the company Mylan formed through its merger with Pfizer's Upjohn, that Malik is no longer a "subject of interest" in its generic industry antitrust probe, Viatris said in a Tuesday press release.
Mylan is not considered to be a subject of interest, either, Viatris said.
The development comes after Mylan and Malik were named in a sprawling 2017 lawsuit from dozens of state attorneys general alleging price fixing on a range of generic medicines. Then, in May 2018, the DOJ issued a civil investigative demand "seeking information relating to the pricing and sale" of Mylan's generic medicines, according to Viatris' latest quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
In a new statement, Viatris said the DOJ outcome "affirms the company's longstanding position, which it has consistently maintained and asserted, for many years, that Mylan investigated these allegations thoroughly and found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Mylan or its employees."
Meanwhile, Viatris said it will "vigorously defend" against the remaining civil lawsuits surrounding price-fixing allegations. The company still, however, faces the lawsuit from state attorneys general plus separate cases from drug purchasers.
The lawsuits allege Mylan and many other generic players engaged in an anticompetitive scheme to divvy up the market and rig prices. Several generic drug makers have inked settlements related to the alleged conduct.
Teva, for instance, last year agreed to pay more than $225 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the federal government. Sun Pharma, Sandoz, Apotex and others have inked settlements related to price-fixing claimsfgen as well.