Second Generic Drugmaker Settles U.S. Price-Fixing Charges

(Bloomberg) -- Rising Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to pay more than $3 million to settle U.S. charges that it conspired to fix prices for a hypertension medicine, the second company to resolve a long-running investigation of the generic-drug industry.

Rising conspired with a competing drug manufacturer from 2014 to 2015 to fix prices for Benazepril HCTZ, the Justice Department said in a statement Tuesday.

The company is the second to settle a five-year criminal investigation by the Justice Department's antitrust division into allegations that generic pharmaceutical companies colluded to raise prices.

The probe has targeted the biggest names in the industry, including Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Mylan NV. The companies are also contending with lawsuits filed by state attorneys general led by Connecticut's William Tong.

Bloomberg reported Nov. 25 that Teva is among drugmakers that have held talks with the Justice Department in the past six months about resolving the investigation.

Read more: Teva, drugmakers in talks to end U.S. generics probes

The Justice Department in May reached a deferred-prosecution agreement with Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc., the first company to settle charges in the investigation.

Rising also agreed to a three-year deferred-prosecution agreement with the government and will cooperate in the ongoing investigation.

To contact the reporter on this story: David McLaughlin in Washington at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Timothy Annett

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