California AG to broaden price-gouging suit

The California attorney general is expected to announce that the state is significantly expanding a lawsuit against two pharma companies accused of unfairly setting prices for prescription drugs. As many as three dozen additional pharmaceutical companies could be named as defendants in the case, according to a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer. California sued Abbott Pharmaceuticals and Wyeth in 2003, accusing the two companies of unfairly setting the prices they charge MediCal, the state's program for low-income residents.

The issue of prescription drug pricing in California is a contentious one, of course. Residents will vote on the issue in a special election in November. Proposition 79 would effectively ban pharma companies found guilty of manipulating prices from doing business with the state. The industry backs the more modest Proposition 78, which contains no such restriction.

- see this story from the Boston Globe

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