Attorney General Rayfield Holds Drug Company Accountable for Driving Up Costs of Medications

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield today announced a $400 million settlement with generic drug maker Sandoz over allegations the company conspired to inflate the costs of prescription medications, costing patients millions of dollars.

Today's announcement stems from allegations that Sandoz worked with other drug companies to push up prices and shut out competition on dozens of common generic medications, costing patients, families, and taxpayers across the country. AG Rayfield has asked a federal judge to approve the resolution.

"These companies are finally being held accountable for the harm they've caused to Oregon families," says Attorney General Rayfield. "We are making sure that they're repaying patients and taxpayers, and ensuring that they are never again able to work in secret to drive up costs on the backs of struggling families."

Under the settlement, which is the result of allegations made by Oregon and 42 other states and territories, Sandoz would pay $400 million. Combined with earlier resolutions the corporation has reached, Sandoz would pay about $469 million in total. Oregon could receive approximately $4.76 million: $1.8 million in damages, Medicaid reimbursements, and other agency recoveries, and an estimated $2.96 million for eligible consumers who were harmed.

If you bought certain generic prescription drugs in the U.S. between May 2009 and December 2019, you may be eligible for compensation. To find out and file a claim:

Additionally, the resolution requires Sandoz to change how it does business, including internal reforms to make sure it competes fairly and follows antitrust law, so that this doesn't happen again to struggling families. The settlement also resolves claims against Sandoz's current and former parent and sister companies overseas, including Novartis, which the states say shared responsibility and moved money around to avoid paying.

According to the evidence gathered by state investigators, sales and pricing executives at competing drug companies were in regular contact at industry dinners, "girls' nights out," golf outings, and cocktail parties, and through phone calls, emails and texts. The states allege that the corporate officials used phrases like "fair share" and "playing nice in the sandbox" to describe agreements to divide up customers and raise prices instead of competing.

Investigators pieced the case together from cooperating insiders, more than 20 million documents, and phone records for more than 600 people in the generic drug industry. One cooperating witness kept a two-volume notebook of his conversations with competitors over several years.

Additional action is expected against other companies involved in the price-gouging scheme; the first trial against other drug makers is set to begin in February 2027.

This is the latest step in a series of lawsuits nearly every state has brought since 2016 against more than 40 generic drug companies and dozens of executives. Earlier settlements with Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex, Heritage and Heritage's parent company, Emcure, total $96.5 million. Two former Heritage executives have settled and are cooperating with the states.

In addition to Oregon, the states and territories in the settlement include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.