AG Accepting Grant Requests Related to Mylan Anti-Anxiety Drug Settlement

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) is soliciting letters of inquiry from state not-for-profit institutions and public agencies for grants to provide discounted prescription anxiety treatments to low- and moderate-income residents, according to the Cypresfunds.net Web site. The grants are the result of the state's settlement with Mylan Laboratories (Cypresfunds.net Web site).

In July 2000, Mylan agreed to pay $135 million to settle lawsuits with the Federal Trade Commission, 32 states and the Washington, D.C., alleging that the company "conspired to corner the market for generic anti-anxiety drugs and jacked up prices more than 2,500%." Under the terms of the settlement, Mylan must end its exclusive deals and pay $100 million to the states and $35 million to private parties (California Healthline, 7/13/00).

According to the Web site, priority for grants from the Mylan Settlement Fund will be given to organizations "with statewide reach" and that benefit uninsured low- and moderate-income state residents.

Grants will range from $150,000 to $500,000 over two years. Organizations can apply for grants through Nov. 17 (Cypresfunds.net Web site).

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