Her efforts to eradicate illegal pill mills and synthetic drugs in Florida is what she is known for, but Attorney General Pam Bondi is also tasked to make sure that all drugs are fairly and legally sold within the state.

According to Bondi’s office, the attorney general recently joined other states attorneys general to file a federal antitrust law suit against generic-drug companies accused of “numerous unlawful conspiracies to unreasonably restrain trade, artificially inflate and manipulate prices and reduce competition in the United States for two drugs.”

“Generic medicine is an important option for consumers in need of medical care and any effort to distort the price of these drugs harms consumers…Today’s multistate action seeks to hold these drug companies accountable and protect the market place.” -AG Pam Bondi

Here is some background about the case Bondi’s office furnished:

In 2015, generic drug sales in the U.S. were estimated at $74.5 billion. Currently, the generic pharmaceutical industry accounts for 88 percent of all prescriptions written in the U.S. 

The states’ investigation uncovered evidence of a broad, well-coordinated and long running series of conspiracies to fix prices and allocate markets for a number of generic pharmaceuticals in the U.S. In the action filed today, the states allege senior drug company executives and their subordinate marketing and sales executives conceived and carried out the misconduct. The complaint further alleges that the defendants routinely coordinated the schemes through direct interaction with competitors at industry trade shows, customer conferences and other events, as well as through direct email, phone and text message. According to the complaint, the anticompetitive conduct – including efforts to fix and maintain prices, allocate markets and otherwise thwart competition – caused significant, harmful and continuing effects in the U.S. healthcare system.

After becoming aware of the investigation, the drug companies, knowing their conduct violated the law, made efforts to avoid communicating with each other in writing and deleted written communications. The companies’ alleged conduct violates the federal Sherman Antitrust Act and various state antitrust laws. To address the violations of law and restore competition, the states are asking the court to enjoin the drug companies from engaging in illegal, anticompetitive behavior and for equitable relief, including substantial financial relief.