The Connecticut attorney general's office is suing pharmaceutical distributor McKesson Corp., contending that it's been illegally inflating the average wholesale price of more than 400 brand-name drugs, ultimately generating millions of dollars in unnecessary costs. The suit contends that McKesson conspired with drug-price publisher First DataBank to raise average wholesale prices (the amount pharmacies and providers charge consumers and insurers for medications) from 20 to 25 percent on many drugs. At the same time, it kept the prices pharmacies and providers paid for drugs at the same level. Under these circumstances, the higher retail prices gave the pharmacies and providers a much bigger profit margin, giving them a strong incentive to work with McKesson, the state says. The suit accuses McKesson of violating Connecticut's consumer-protection laws and the federal racketeering act.
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