Connecticut joins McKesson lawsuit

Drug distributor McKesson Corp. artificially inflated drug prices for state-funded health programs, costing consumers millions of dollars, according to Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal.

Blumenthal accused San Francisco-based McKesson of conspiring with Hearst Corp.’s First DataBank unit, a publisher of drug-price lists, to inflate the average wholesale prices for its pharmaceuticals. Connecticut joined California in suing McKesson after a federal court judge certified a class-action suit against the company in March.

“The allegations lack merit,” McKesson spokesman Larry Kurtz said. “We do not set average wholesale prices.”