TRENTON – Two former executives of a New Jersey-based generic pharmaceutical manufacturing company have entered into settlement and cooperation agreements with 41 states — including New Jersey — that are investigating what they allege is widespread anti-competitive activity in the generic drug industry.
Jason Malek, the former president of Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Jeffrey Glazer, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – each residents of New Jersey – have entered into settlement agreements with the investigating states.
Under those settlement agreements, the two former executives have agreed to cooperate in the states’ ongoing litigation and investigation. Their cooperation includes providing information, documents, testimony, depositions and other evidence to support the investigation.
In July 2014, the state of Connecticut initiated an investigation into the reasons behind suspicious price increases of certain generic pharmaceuticals. The investigation is ongoing with regard to a number of additional generic drugs, generic drug companies and key executives. It has already resulted in a pending lawsuit by 40 states, including New Jersey, against six generic drug-makers. The suit alleges collusion that has contributed to inflated drug prices for consumers and state governments.
The multi-state lawsuit, announced in March of this year, alleges a well-coordinated and long-running conspiracy to fix prices and allocate markets for doxycycline hyclate delayed release, an antibiotic, and glyburide, an oral diabetes medication.
Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – based in Eatontown, New Jersey – is one of the defendants in the multi-state litigation.
In December 2016, Glazer and Malek each entered into plea agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice after being charged with two counts of criminal violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In addition to their cooperation with the multi-states` anti-trustl investigation, Glazer and Malek will each pay a $25,000 civil penalty to the states.
Deputy Attorneys General Russell M. Smith, Jr. and Erin M. Greene, and Deputy Attorney General Patricia Schiripo, Assistant Section Chief of the Division of Law’s Consumer Fraud Prosecution Section, handled the matter on behalf of the State.
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