(Reuters)—U.S. prosecutors could file the first charges in their criminal investigation of generic drugmakers over suspected price collusion by the end of the year, Bloomberg reports.
The antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) spans more than a dozen companies and about two dozen drugs, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
The grand jury probe is examining whether some executives agreed with one another to raise prices, Bloomberg reports.
A DOJ spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Several of the companies, including Mylan, Allergan, Endo and Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, have already received subpoenas in connection with the investigation.
Aggressive drug pricing has come under intense scrutiny after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted her intent to tackle high prices last year.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) opened an investigation last fall into 14 drug companies over price increases of generic drugs.
In February, Sanders and Cummings asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services‘ enforcement arm to investigate generic drug price increases.
