Glenmark shares fall 5% after US DOJ charges firm with price-fixing

The charge alleges that the gain to the conspirators, and the loss to the victims, was at least $200 million, the department said in a statement.

Glenmark is the fifth company to be charged over the last 13 months in connection with antitrust violations in the generic pharmaceutical industry. The previous corporate charges, including the charge against Glenmark’s co-conspirator Apotex, were resolved by a deferred prosecution agreement.

However, the company said it strongly disagreed with the charge being advanced by the Justice Department and does not believe the evidence supports the government’s case.

“These charges run contrary to the very essence of Glenmark – to drive down drug prices and improve patient access to medications. We will continue to vigorously defend against these charges, and we are confident the overwhelming evidence will make that clear,” Glenmark told CNBC-TV18.

This charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into market allocation, price-fixing, bid-rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the generic pharmaceutical industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division with the assistance of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington and Philadelphia Field Offices, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.