(The Center Square) – State Medicaid and the State Health Plan will each receive $4.2 million from an $11 million settlement North Carolina has reached with the exclusive American marketer and distributor of EpiPen Auto-Injectors.
Mylan, according to the legal filing, was accused of antitrust violations through the blockage of generic competitors. Pharmacy benefit managers were paid, the litigation says, to keep generic brands off preferred drug lists, delay generic competitors from even reaching the market, and making misleading claims about competitors.
Since the beginning of the calendar year, states have announced settlements totaling $24 million with Mylan, now a part of Viatris. Since 2020, other major settlements have included a 2022 third-party class action for $264 million, and a 2025 direct purchaser settlement of $73.5 million to resolve accusations of a monopoly scheme with Pfizer and Teva.
“To have our hardworking state employees and taxpayers across North Carolina be overcharged for a lifesaving drug is unconscionable,” said first-term Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner. “Every little bit helps when it comes to funding for our State Health Plan, and efforts like this one keep us on the right track toward controlling healthcare costs for our members.”
The State Health Plan has more than 750,000 teachers, state troopers and other state employees, as well as retirees and families of the aforementioned. More than 10,000 members in the plan filed at least one prescription for an epinephrine auto-injector in 2025.
“They used their control of the market to keep competitors out and drive the price up,” said first-term Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “That’s not legal. We made them pay it back.”
Jackson said EpiPen two-packs were about $100 in 2007. In 2016, the rate was $600.
Jackson’s $11 million settlement announcement comes as Mylan – now a part of Viatris – also settles with other states. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced a $4.5 million settlement on Tuesday; New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez announced a $2.25 million settlement on April 15; and former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, on his final day in office on Jan. 16, settled for $6.25 million.
