Teva settles MassHealth fraud lawsuit

NEW YORK - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's biggest maker of generic drugs, paid $7 million to settle a suit claiming it charged illegally inflated prices to Massachusetts' Medicaid program.

Teva's US unit and its Ivax Corp. subsidiary are two of the 13 drug makers sued by the Commonwealth, which claims they reported false prices to national drug price-reporting services.

The agreement resolves claims related to Teva and Ivax drugs, Attorney General Martha Coakley's office said. Massachusetts sued in 2003, saying companies defrauded MassHealth by overcharging based on the reported prices.

Massachusetts has already settled with five other companies for a total of $7.5 million, according to the state. A suit against the remaining six, including Mylan Inc., the biggest US generic drug maker, is pending in federal court in Boston.