Attorney General Phil Weiser has joined his counterparts in 50 states and territories in filing a new lawsuit against three dozen pharmaceutical companies and representatives alleging a conspiracy to reduce competition and maximize prices of topical products.

“A conspiracy to fix prices and reduce competition on this scale is shocking not only on account of its impact on consumers, but also on account of the blatant anti-competitive actions perpetrated by the manufacturers,” said Weiser.

The 600-page lawsuit against such companies as Pfizer, Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, describes the market for generic creams, lotions, gels, ointments and topical solutions as inherently difficult to enter because of the technical demonstrations that manufacturers need to go through. The attorneys general claim that several of the companies agreed over a number of years to raise prices in tandem.

“In order to maintain these unlawful agreements, the competitors stayed in nearly constant communication – meeting regularly at trade shows and customer conferences and communicating frequently by phone and text message to reinforce their understandings,” the lawsuit alleges. The conspiracy reportedly began in 2009 and accelerated in 2013 and 2014, when prices “skyrocketed without explanation.”

The states’ investigation relied on confidential cooperating witnesses, telephone call logs and thousands of documents. Drug companies had an understanding of what their “fair share” of the market should be, and one executive told his pricing department that “[g]iving up share to new entrant (as warranted) shows responsibility and will save us in the long run”. He added “[d]on’t rock the boat – [g]reedy hogs go to slaughter.”

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, claims violations of the Colorado Antitrust Act and Colorado Consumer Protection Act through the companies’ misleading justifications of price increases and their failure to disclose that they were part of a conspiracy.