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UTAH FINALLY GETS SOME ANXIETY RELIEF
ANXIETY DRUG MANUFACTURER DELIVERS $859,000 SETTLEMENT
Leon Walton couldn't believe it when he saw the check. The 72-year-old Kearns man received $525 from the four-year-old lawsuit with pharmaceutical giant Mylan Laboratories.
"It's something I never expected," said Walton, who has been taking Mylan's anti-anxiety drug lorazepam. "When I got the check, I was very pleased. The price of medicine is a real strain on the pocketbook."
Walton is one of 1,106 Utah residents who received a portion of the $100 million settlement with Mylan. Approximately $859,000 is going to Utah consumers and state agencies to settle the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Utah Attorney General's Office and attorneys general in 33 other states.
Mylan was accused in 1998 of orchestrating an illegal price increase--more than 2,000 percent--for the generic drugs lorazepam and clorazepate. The drugs are used to treat anxiety, Alzheimer's disease and other afflictions.
"Corporate misconduct hurts everybody," said Assistant Attorney General Wayne Klein, who worked on the Mylan lawsuit. "This case demonstrates why we need to keep working hard to make sure companies don't take money that belongs to consumers and taxpayers."
The agreement requires that the settlement money be distributed to government agencies and consumers who were injured by the price increases. Here's a breakdown of Utah's share of the settlement:
| - Utah Division of Health Care Financing $285,900.00 - Utah State Hospital $6,813.00 - Utah Developmental Center $15,508.00 - Individual consumers (1,106 Utah residents) $210,888.90 - Litigation reimbursement $159,768.25 - Distribution for other health benefits (approx.) $180,000.00 |
The settlement check arrived too late for 93-year-old Delores Henninger. The Layton woman passed away two years ago. Henninger was using lorazepam to help her calm down while she was living in a nursing home.
"We were paying several hundred dollars each month just for her medicine," said Mary Peterson, Henninger's daughter. "It was just terrible." Peterson plans to divide the money with her brothers and sisters who helped pay for the drugs.
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