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Koster, 35 other attorneys general sue drugmakers

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Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and 35 other state attorneys general filed suit today against Indivior, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc., and MonoSol Rx.

The states allege Indivior conspired with MonoSol to switch the form of Suboxone - a prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction - to a film from a tablet in order to prevent or delay generic competitors and force consumers to pay artificially high prices, according to a news release.

“As opioid addiction has skyrocketed, these companies schemed to preserve their monopoly of the addiction treatment,” Koster said in the release. “This conduct violates laws that protect consumers and must be punished.”

According to the suit, Reckitt Benckiser introduced Suboxone in 2002 and had exclusive rights to the product over the next seven years. However, before that time was up, Reckitt allegedly worked with MonoSol to develop a dissolvable film similar to a breath strip so it could remove the tablet from the market.

The attorneys general suing the companies called the conduct “product hopping,” where a company makes minor changes to extend patent protections and keep other companies from making cheaper generic alternatives, according to the release.

The suit alleges the film version of the drug had no benefits over the tablet medically. Since late 2009, attorneys general say annual sales of Suboxone topped $1 billion.

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