Utah joins lawsuit against drug manufacturing company Wyeth

SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Utah has joined with 16 other states in suing a pharmaceutical company accused of concealing the price of its drugs to avoid paying rebates to Medicaid.

According to the Utah Attorney General's office, drug manufacturing company Wyeth would hide the discounted prices of its stomach acid suppressing drugs Protonix Oral and Protonix IV to keep from paying "hundreds of millions in rebates due to state Medicaid programs" for the drugs.

Utah was one of 17 states that filed motions to intervene on Friday in two separate "whistleblower lawsuits" alleging that the company failed to report the "best price" available for the drugs between 2001 and 2006. Regulatory laws require drug manufacturers to report the reduced prices and rebates to Medicaid.

"Drug companies that game the system are being held accountable," Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said in a prepared statement. "The Utah Attorney General's Office is committed to making sure taxpayers are not exploited and Medicaid patients are treated fairly."

The Utah Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is handling the case, which involves other states ranging from Colorado to New Jersey to Oregon. Robert Morton, the assistant attorney general who is representing Utah in the case, said the legal battle will benefit Utah's taxpayers by targeting companies that "cheat the system."

— Emiley Morgan