Attorney General Philip McLaughlin today announced that a federal court in Washington, D.C. has given final approval to antitrust settlements that will refund over $100 million to consumers and government agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The settlement concludes antitrust litigation initiated in December 1998 against Mylan Laboratories and several other companies involved in the manufacture of generic anti-anxiety drugs lorazepam and clorazepate. The litigation conducted by state attorneys general alleged illegal agreements to monopolize the markets for these drugs, resulting in price increases from 1,900% to 3000%.

"This enormously successful lawsuit will result in the payment of refunds to hundreds of thousands of consumers harmed by this anticompetitive conduct," said Attorney General Philip McLaughlin. "Strong enforcement of our antitrust laws is necessary to prevent consumers from being victimized by collusion among companies in a position to dominate the market."

Last year, the defendants agreed to settle with Mylan paying $100 million and another defendant, SST Corp., paying $500,000 nationwide. The settlement approved today will permit distribution of the settlement amounts to consumers and government agencies which paid higher prices as a result of the alleged conspiracy to raise prices.

The settlement provides for approximately $67 million to be distributed to consumers who paid higher prices for lorazepam and clorazepate and who submitted claim forms identifying their purchases. Government agencies such as Medicaid and state hospitals will receive approximately $29 million as compensation for the higher prices paid for their drug purchases or reimbursements.

With the support of fifteen national pharmacy chains, including CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, WalMart and Target, direct mail notice was sent to over 1.1 million consumers across the country. Extensive advertising and pharmacy notices also helped educate consumers about the process for obtaining a refund.

Over 240,000 purchasers have submitted claims for refunds, including over 1,400 in New Hampshire. If funds are sufficient, consumers are expected to receive refunds of 60% of the amounts paid for lorazepam and 70% of the clorazepate amounts. These percentages constitute 100% of the estimated overcharges. The size of the refunds will vary according to the amount of purchases.

The litigation was pursued by a group of thirty-two states, the District of Columbia, and the Federal Trade Commission. The cooperative effort of the states, joining with the FTC, developed powerful evidence of the illegal agreement and convinced the defendants to settle, ultimately paying more than the amounts they had collected from the higher drug prices.

If there is no appeal, the refunds are expected to be mailed in the Spring of 2002.

In New Hampshire, the government money will be paid to the New Hampshire State Prison and New Hampshire Hospital for their losses in paying higher drug prices for recipients needing these drugs.