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Chinese pharmaceutical companies may have conspired to artificially inflate the price of VItamin C.
Investigation Source (Case #05-CV-00453); 06-MD-1738)
- Nationwide
Investigation Scope
Category Information
Investigation Topics
- Defective Product or Service
- Over Charge
- Price Fixing
- Anti-Competitive Behavior
Products or Services
- Direct Purchasers of Vitamin C
- Vitamins, Nutritional Supplements and Over The Counter Medicines
Injury Type
- Monetary Loss
Investigation Details
Investigation and pending class action lawsuit against Chinese pharmaceutical companies Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Jiangsu Jiangshan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Northeast Pharmaceutical (Group) Co. Ltd., Weisheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical (USA), Inc., JSPC America and China Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.
The class action anti-trust lawsuit alleges that these companies conspired to fix prices and control export output of Vitamin C from December 1, 2001 to the present.
The case follows the historic Vitamins Litigation, prosecuted against European and Japanese manufacturers of bulk vitamins, including Vitamin C, for anticompetitive conduct during the 1990s. As a result of that litigation, those manufacturing defendants paid billions in government fines and billions in civil settlements to plaintiffs. Chinese companies subsequently took over the Vitamin C market and now control approximately 90 percent of the Vitamin C market in the United States.
The suit represents China's growing economic clout in the United States and has raised important new issues concerning the Chinese government's role in the defendants' pricing and output decisions of the Chinese manufacturing defendants.
The class action anti-trust lawsuit alleges that these companies conspired to fix prices and control export output of Vitamin C from December 1, 2001 to the present.
The case follows the historic Vitamins Litigation, prosecuted against European and Japanese manufacturers of bulk vitamins, including Vitamin C, for anticompetitive conduct during the 1990s. As a result of that litigation, those manufacturing defendants paid billions in government fines and billions in civil settlements to plaintiffs. Chinese companies subsequently took over the Vitamin C market and now control approximately 90 percent of the Vitamin C market in the United States.
The suit represents China's growing economic clout in the United States and has raised important new issues concerning the Chinese government's role in the defendants' pricing and output decisions of the Chinese manufacturing defendants.
Defendant Details
| Name (Stock Symbol) | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is a bulk manufacturer of drugs and vitamins. |
| Jiangsu Jiangshan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | Jiangsu Jiangshan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets a comprehensive range of vitamin C series products, nutritional & health supplements. |
| Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. | Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. manufactures bulk vitamins and drugs and also the sale of chemical raw medicines and pharmaceutical preparations. |
| Weisheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd | Weisheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. manufactures vitamin C. |
| China Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. | China Pharmaceutical is a generic pharmaceutical company and bulk drug manufacturer. |
| JSPC America, Inc. | JSPC America, Inc. distributes vitamins and nutritional supplements. |