Michigan Attorney General Bill Schutte jointed a multi-state lawsuit against MonoSol Rx and Reckitt, the makers of Suboxone, claiming the company performed illegal anti-trust activities to prevent competition and drive up the cost of the drug. If the law is successful, consumers suffering opioid addiction could be able to get help for a lot less money.
If you are one of the 2.1 million people suffering from opioid addiction in America, you may rely on a drug like Suboxone to reduce your addiction symptoms. If so, you know that the dissolving film is very expensive for consumers. A 30 dose prescription of the drug can range from $137 to $477, depending on the dosage. Despite the high cost of the name-brand drug, there is no generic version.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette recently joined a lawsuit that spanned 34 states and the District of Columbia claiming that is a problem. According to the multi-state lawsuit, the manufacturers, Reckitt and MonoSol Rx, engaged in anti-trust and anti-competitive behaviors to artificially maintain high monopoly prices since 2009. It raises claims under the federal Sherman Act and state laws against conspiracy to monopolize and illegal restraint of trade.
Reckitt first introduced the anti-addiction drug Suboxone in tablet form in 2002. Under the law, the company had exclusivity protection over the formula for 7 years. During that time, no other company was allowed to create a generic version of the drug. Before that exclusivity protection expired, Reckitt and MonoSol worked together to create a dissolvable film version of the drug and artificially prolong its monopoly on the drug.
Reckitt and MonoSol then pressured the market toward the film and away from the older tablet formulation. According to the lawsuit, the firms used marketing, price adjustments and other methods to get doctors to change their prescriptions. Once the majority of those prescriptions were written for the film, Reckitt removed the tablet from the U.S. market (though it is still sold elsewhere).
The lawsuit states that the Suboxone film provided no significant benefit over the tablet, even though Reckitt allegedly expressed unsupported safety concerns about the tablet to the FDA. This postponed the development and approval of generic versions of the anti-addiction drug, and kept prices high.
Attorney General Bill Schuette told Mlive.com:
“Antitrust laws are in place to ensure a fair market and competitive pricing for consumers. . . . The unethical actions of these two companies caused prices of this drug to skyrocket for consumers. Addiction rates America are at an all-time high, the blatant actions of this company to use an epidemic for financial gain is despicable.”If the lawsuit is successful, it could make it far easier for people facing opioid addiction to get the pharmaceutical help they need. By opening up the market to generic versions, the suit will drive up competition and drive down cost.
Dani K. Liblang is a consumer protection attorney at The Liblang Law Office, P.C., in Birmingham, Michigan. If you have been the victim of a company’s bad behavior, contact The Liblang Law Firm, P.C., today for a free consultation.
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