A Rankin County chancery judge has awarded more than $38 million to the state in a lawsuit filed against a pharmaceutical company.
State Attorney General Jim Hood filed the suit against Sandoz Inc. accusing the company of publishing inflated average wholesale prices for the drugs it manufactures. As a result, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid reimbursed pharmacies at an inflated prices, according to a statement released by Hood's office.
Judge Thomas Zebert awarded Mississippi $23,661,618 in compensatory damages, $11,830,809 in punitive damages and $2,699,000 in penalties, for a total of $38,191,427.
In addition, the court entered an injunction on Sandoz reporting false average wholesale prices to Mississippi, the release stated.
"Sandoz, with its greed for more profits, caused Mississippi to overpay on drug prescriptions and some of our neediest citizens were being denied health care due to cost overruns," Hood said in the release.
Calls to a Mississippi attorney for Sandoz were not immediately returned. It isn't clear whether the Germany-based company will appeal.
The state is pursuing legal action against 54 pharmaceutical companies accused of defrauding Medicaid with inflated average wholesale prices.
The Sandoz case is the first to go to trial.
Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove represented Mississippi as a private attorney in the lawsuit. Hood's office says Musgrove's fees haven't been determined.
According to Hood, all of the companies used similar fraudulent math to defraud the state.
Mississippi previously had settled with eight other pharmaceutical companies for a net of $38,709,700.
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