Maryland has joined 44 states in a lawsuit against the largest generic drug manufacturers and 15 individuals alleging they conspired to artificially inflate and manipulate generic drug prices.

As reported by The Baltimore Sun:

In a statement, [Maryland Attorney General Brian] Frosh said the drugs named in the suit “are used by millions of people for conditions that range from diabetes to cancer to depression, and we allege that their scheme cheated vulnerable patients, the State of Maryland and health insurance programs to the tune of billions of dollars.”

According to the release, “the complaint lays out an interconnected web of industry executives where these competitors met with each other during industry dinners, ‘girls nights out,’ lunches, cocktail parties, golf outings, and communicated via frequent telephone calls, emails and text messages that sowed the seeds for their illegal agreements. Defendants used terms like ‘fair share,’ ‘playing nice in the sandbox,’ and, ‘responsible competitor’ to describe how they unlawfully discouraged competition, raised prices and enforced an ingrained culture of collusion.”

Read the full article in The Baltimore Sun to learn more.