Attorney General Bruce Beemer announced today that his office is joining nineteen other states in a federal antitrust suit against six pharmaceutical companies.

These companies are accused of conspiring to fix prices of generic drugs in order to reduce competition and increase the cost for consumers.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut against Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc., Citron Pharma, LLC, Mayne Pharma (USA), Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

“The conduct alleged in the lawsuit resulted in the Commonwealth and consumers throughout the nation paying substantially higher prices for many generic pharmaceutical drugs,” Attorney General Beemer said. “It is critical for our office to be a part of the effort to prevent similar activity that will undoubtedly have a negative impact on consumers.”

The lawsuit concerns two drugs, the antibiotic doxycycline hyclate delayed release as well as the oral diabetes medication glyburide.

Other states joining Pennsylvania in this suit include: Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia and Washington.