Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TARO) former Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ara Aprahamian has been indicted by the Justice Department for price-fixing and bid-rigging on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

What Happened?

According to the Justice Department, a federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has indicted Aprahamian for his role to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate customers for generic drugs, and for making a false statement to federal agents who were investigating those conspiracies.

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division said in the released statement, “Today’s charges demonstrate the Antitrust Division’s resolve in rooting out collusion that corrupted the marketplace for generic drugs and led to higher prices for critical medications used by millions of Americans.

”The statement recognized that Aprahamian is the third executive charged for participating in conspiracies to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers for generic drugs. Previously, two individuals had entered guilty pleas in January 2017.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported Bob Gage, the lawyer for Aprahamian claimed that, “We have absolute confidence that once all the facts are brought to light Mr. Aprahamian will be proven innocent”

Why It Matters?

The issue of drug prices has been a ‘hot one’ according to CNBC, which said that some drugs on the markets for decades have seen their prices rise sharply. In December 2018 Washington Post had reported an investigation against alleged price-fixing involving 16 companies and 300 drugs.

Price Action

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries shares traded 2.23% lower at $77.45 at press time on Tuesday.