Attorney General Hector Balderas
From the Office of the Attorney General:
Santa Fe — Attorney General Balderas today filed a lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico against Gilead Sciences, Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, LLC, and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., for violating the New Mexico Antitrust Act and New Mexico Unfair Practices Act.
The lawsuit stems from the development, marketing, and manufacturing of several antiretroviral medications used in the prevention and treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (“HIV”) – a disease which, if left untreated, destroys the immune system and leads to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (“AIDS”).
The antiretroviral medications at issue include:
- VIREAD®
- TRUVADA®
- ATRIPLA®
- VEMLIDY®
- DESCOVY®.
“Putting profits over the critical needs of New Mexican patients and risking their health and safety is unacceptable,” Balderas said. “My office will hold anyone accountable who takes advantage of or harms our families.”
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants engaged in coordinated schemes and anti-competitive agreements to suppress the entry of cheaper generic versions of each drug into the market, and to delay the development of safer, more effective treatment drugs in order to maintain a stranglehold on the market for antiretroviral treatment.
The defendants’ schemes resulted in vastly inflated prices for these lifesaving drugs, and hundreds of millions of dollars in anticompetitive profits to the defendants. These profits came at the expense of government payors like the State of New Mexico, and patients living with HIV.
A copy of the complaint filed in New Mexico Court is attached here.
