Ala. attorney: 2 drug companies cheated Medicaid

By Bob Johnson

MONTGOMERY, Ala. AP) - An attorney seeking as much as $400 million in damages from two large pharmaceutical companies told jurors Tuesday the firms defrauded Alabama's Medicaid program with high prices for drugs for more than a decade.

Attorneys for Novartis Pharmaceuticals and SmithKline Beecham Corp. said the drugs were properly priced through a method understood by the state agency.

The trial, expected to last about two weeks, is the second to be held on more than 70 lawsuits filed by the state accusing pharmaceutical companies of overcharging Medicaid for prescription drugs . The first ended with a jury awarding the state $215 million against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.

Similar lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies are pending in other states, including Mississippi, South Carolina , Utah, Hawaii and Alaska.