Penalty Amount
$49,100,000
Attorney General William Tong announced settlements with Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex totaling $49.1 million to resolve allegations of price-fixing conspiracies for generic prescription drugs. The companies agreed to cooperate in ongoing multistate litigation and implement internal reforms to ensure fair competition.
The settlements require Heritage Pharmaceuticals to pay $10 million and Apotex to pay $39.1 million. Both companies must cooperate with the ongoing multistate litigation and adopt internal reforms to comply with antitrust laws and prevent future violations.
In-house legal teams should review all vendor, distributor, and customer agreements—particularly those involving generic drug supply, distribution, and co-marketing—for clauses that could enable anti-competitive behavior. Focus on pricing terms, market allocation provisions, exclusivity arrangements, and any agreements with direct competitors. Specific clauses to scrutinize include antitrust compliance certifications, audit rights, termination triggers for legal violations, and cooperation obligations in investigations. Given the settlements, contracts may need amendments to include explicit prohibitions against price-fixing and market division, mandatory antitrust training, enhanced reporting requirements, and provisions allowing for independent compliance audits to align with the internal reforms agreed to by the settling parties.
Entity
Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex
Industry
HealthcareOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2024-press-releases/attorney-general-tong-announces-updates-in-litigation-against-generic-drug-manufacturers
AG Jepsen Leads Coalition in New Expanded Complaint in Feder
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Press-Releases-Archived/2017-Press-Releases/AG-Jepsen-Leads-Coalition-in-New-Expanded-Complaint-in-Federal-Generic-Drug-Antitrust-Lawsuit
GDMS Complaint 51019 FINAL REDACTED PUBLIC VERSIONpdf
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/AG/Downloads/GDMS Complaint 51019 FINAL REDACTED PUBLIC VERSIONpdf
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of states and local governments in filing suit against NHTSA over its rule weakening fuel economy standards for new passenger cars and light trucks. The lawsuit alleges the rule violates the agency’s statutory mandate and the Administrative Procedure Act; no penalty or final remedy is reported.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition suing the EPA over its repeal of greenhouse gas pollution limits for power plants and separately filed a notice of intent to sue over regulation of existing gas plants. The coalition asks the court to overturn the repeal and restore the protections; the release reports no monetary penalty or final order.
$400.0M
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced a $400 million settlement with Sandoz Inc. and Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. resolving allegations that the generic drug manufacturers conspired to inflate prices, limit competition, and restrain trade. The settlement includes consumer restitution and injunctive reforms; court approval was being sought.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter opposing a DHS rule that allows certain affirmative asylum applications to be referred to removal proceedings without an asylum officer interview. The coalition argues the rule violates federal law and harms asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children; this was a policy opposition letter, not a privacy enforcement action.
Connecticut and Massachusetts co-led a coalition protest urging FERC to reject the proposed NextEra Energy-Dominion Energy merger. The coalition argued that the merger could increase market power and threaten energy affordability, reliability, and competition; the release does not report a final enforcement decision or penalty.
Connecticut officials warned residents about potential home improvement scams before an approaching nor’easter, including unlicensed contractors, high-pressure sales tactics, and demands for full payment upfront. The release provides consumer guidance on checking contractors and contract requirements; it does not announce an enforcement action or penalty against a named entity.