Teva's trial begins: Tuesday the jury's selection phase for New York State's opioid lawsuit starts

Tuesday, the jury's selection phase for New York State's opioid lawsuit against Teva and another line of pharma giants, including Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Maxon (MCK), is set to begin. The purpose of the lawsuit is to prove that the companies took an active part in a false business conduct to make money, with the aim of receiving monetary compensation.
Returning to the continuation of the legal proceedings is a turning point, which began with the plague, so quite a few proceedings stopped. Now that the U.S. is starting to get back to normal, not only will the trial in New York begin, but there are thousands more lawsuits across the U.S. that want to sue companies for their part in the affair, in what could become precedent-setting pharma decisions in particular - but corporate responsibility in general.
"The start of the trial in New York later this month symbolizes the expected expansion of litigation activity across the U.S.," RBC analyst Daniel Bezby wrote in a letter to investors, adding that "this is the most complicated trial to date and the first to come before a jury. We believe that these laws increase the chances of a global settlement with the companies, or at least we will know better about the manufacturers' warranty in the second half of the year.
Last year, at a conference of the company's investors in Israel, referring to the affair, the company's CEO Carr Schultz said that “we were not sued for violating the law, but due to personal claims of lawyers who are exploiting the law there. They said they would sue us for our contribution, they did not sue for money but for damages that happened. "
In addition, he compared Teva's responsibility to the issue as to that of the alcohol companies, for those who act under the influence of the intoxicating drink and said that the company has no direct responsibility in the matter.
Teva has so far agreed to donate money for the treatment of victims of the opioid epidemic, including preventive treatments. At the same time, however, its proposal has not been accepted due to the continuation of local lawsuits in the US, which seek to impose on pharmaceutical companies direct responsibility for the crisis and thus increase compensation to the injured public.
One way or another, Teva has already reached, according to various sources, almost an arrangement in which drugs have been offered for 10 years in the amount of about $ 20 billion. This value is in terms of sale, and Kar translates it into cost terms and capitalizes the amount and receives a significantly lower amount that will be spread over many years. An amount with which nature "can live." The question of whether such a compromise is on the table.

Teva continues vigorously reject the state's claims in this lawsuit and have presented significant evidence in the trial that shows that the state was fully aware of the industry's approach to average wholesale price reporting, and suffered no harm as a result.
"I am pleased with the compromise that was signed today, which will bring in $ 135 million to the country," Prosecutor General Medigan said. "All in all, due to the 2005 lawsuit, our firm has received over $ 436 million from drug companies that have taken inappropriate action to the state of Illinois." Today, Illinois is proceeding against nine other companies.
According to estimates, Teva is exposed to an additional fine that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in the generic pharmaceutical cartel, claiming that Teva and other companies coordinated prices of 300 generic drugs in the US At the end of the third 

US authorities have uncovered a few months ago suspicions that at least 16 generic drug companies, including Teva, have created a cartel to set prices for about 300 drugs. "This is probably the largest cartel in US history," said Joseph Nielsen, Assistant Attorney General Connecticut and one of the leading forces of the investigation. class action lawsuit, filed in 2016 and affecting only two drugs, has since expanded to include 16 companies, including some of the largest pharmaceutical Generic companies.
In court documents, Teva claimed that allegations of conspiring to set prices were "completely speculative and groundless." The investigation is currently in the hands of 47 US states, and it is estimated that in the coming months additional details will be revealed and defendants will be added, which will increase the pressure on the companies to reach agreements with the plaintiffs.
One of the most prominent examples is the albuterol drug, which is designed to relieve asthma symptoms, and is sold by Maylane and Sun. Its price jumped more than 3,400% from 13 cents a tablet to more than $ 4.70. "Everyone is paying the price," Nielsen said in an interview with The Washington Post. He added that this was "piggy" behavior.
The investigation revealed that senior company executives used to meet for dinner or golf games and created a code language to describe their conduct. For example, the "sandbox" referred to the market for generic prescription drugs. "Fair share" talked about the distribution of the sales pie so that each company would enjoy continuous profits, while "dirty the market" meant that one company ignored the unwritten rules and sold the drugs at a lower price than agreed upon.
The officials were so friendly that they set up an alphabetical round to decide who was paying the bill for meals. Annual conferences and cocktail parties have become more opportunities for exchanging sensitive information about the market and prices.
According to the investigation, price increases of up to 2,000% were recorded on some drugs. Generic drugs work in a market setting designed to save consumers and taxpayers large amounts of money by promoting aggressive competition. When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a generic drug, the first company that markets it receives exclusive rights to market the drug for six months. During this period the discount compared to the price of non-generic drug is relatively small - 10%. The price drops by 50% once a second generic drug enters the market, and when there are already 6 or 7 companies competing for the same drug, the price can drop by 75%. In the 3rd quarter Teva's debt amounted to $ 27.6 billion, or $ 10 billion less than the debt, when Schulz was appointed CEO a year ago.