June 24, 2019 -  An investor in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania over alleged violations of Federal Securities Laws by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between August 4, 2017 and May 10, 2019. Israel based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines and a portfolio of specialty medicines worldwide. The first such investigation was initiated by the Attorney General (“AG”) of Connecticut in July 2014. Shortly thereafter, the United States Congress and United States Department of Justice each launched similar probes into skyrocketing prices of generic drugs.

Since that time, Teva has been subject of intense public scrutiny concerning its alleged involvement in an industry-wide price-fixing scheme and other collusive misconduct in the U.S. generic drug market. Since at least 2014, there has been intense public scrutiny into the rising prices of generic drugs, including Congressional hearings, calls for drug pricing legislation, and prosecutorial investigations.

On December 9, 2018, it was publicly disclosed that the scope of the State AGs’ investigation had expanded greatly to include 300 drugs and at least 16 companies, exposing “the largest cartel in the history of the United States.” On May 10, 2019, a coalition of 44 states filed a 524-page antitrust complaint revealing previously undisclosed facts regarding Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited’s participation in the generic drug price-fixing conspiracy. Among other things, the action detailed Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited’s role as a “consistent participant” in the conspiracy, implementing price increases on upwards of 110 generic drugs and colluding with competitors regarding over 85 different generic drugs. Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA) declined from $71.68 per share in August 2015 to as low as $7.96 per share on June 21, 2019.

According to the complaint the plaintiff alleges on behalf of purchasers of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE: TEVA) common shares between August 4, 2017 and May 10, 2019, that the defendants violated Federal Securities Laws.

More specifically, the plaintiff claims that between August 4, 2017 and May 10, 2019, the defendants made false and/or misleading statements denying that Teva “engaged in any conduct that would give rise to liability” in various antitrust proceedings and investigations that enveloped the company. In truth, and as Defendants failed to disclose to investors, (i) contrary to its public denials, Teva had in fact engaged in a vast, industry-wide price-fixing scheme and other collusive misconduct since at least 2012; (ii) Teva was not only a participant, but the company at the heart of the anticompetitive scheme; and (iii) several Teva employees had such deep involvement in the scheme that they would ultimately be named personally as defendants in a sweeping civil enforcement action filed by the AGs of virtually every state in the nation.