OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal judge in Massachusetts has granted Attorney General Drew Edmondson's request to intervene in a lawsuit against drug manufacturer Wyeth.
Edmondson's motion to intervene in the case was granted Thursday. Wyeth, a unit of Pfizer Inc., is accused of overcharging state Medicaid programs for the stomach acid medications Protonix Oral and Protonix IV.
The federal Medicaid Drug Rebate Program requires drug manufacturers to offer medications to government purchasers at the same discount prices they offer to large commercial customers.
Oklahoma purchases large quantities of medications through the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Oklahoma Medicaid provider. The lawsuit accuses Wyeth of offering steep discounts to thousands of hospitals nationwide but not making such offers available to the states.
Overcharges are believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars nationally.