North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson urged residents who bought certain generic prescription drugs between 2009 and 2019 to file claims from a $96.5 million settlement.

Waxhaw-area residents who filled generic prescriptions during that window may be eligible for a payout. A court has preliminarily approved a plan to distribute funds from settlements with six drug manufacturers that allegedly conspired to inflate generic drug prices, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice. Jackson led the effort alongside a coalition of 47 other states and territories.

The settlements were reached with manufacturers Glenmark, Lannett, Bausch, Apotex, Heritage and Heritage's parent company, Emcure.

"North Carolinians are getting money back to make up for unfairly high drug costs they paid in the past year," Jackson said in a Friday, Sept. 25 announcement. "We're always going to hold companies accountable when they break the law and rig the system so they can charge people more."

Who qualifies

Anyone who currently lives in North Carolina and purchased one or more drugs on the settlement list in the United States between May 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2019, may be eligible. Eligibility is based on current state of residence, not where purchases were made, according to the settlement website.

Buyers who purchased drugs for resale, bought directly from a defendant company, or worked as an officer, director or employee of a defendant are not eligible.

What drugs are covered

The list covers dozens of generic medications. Examples include albuterol for asthma, amitriptyline for depression and anxiety, amphetamine/dextroamphetamine for ADHD, azithromycin and ciprofloxacin for bacterial infections, digoxin for heart failure and carbamazepine for epilepsy.

The full list is available at aggenericdrugs.com.

How to file

Residents can check the drug list, call 1-866-290-0182, email [email protected] or visit aggenericdrugs.com to determine eligibility and submit a claim. The claims deadline is March 8, 2027, according to a post from the attorney general's office on Instagram.

Claims take only a few minutes.

What the cases allege

State attorneys general filed four complaints alleging that competing generic drug executives regularly met at industry dinners, golf outings and cocktail parties. The complaints allege executives used phrases like "fair share" and "playing nice in the sandbox" to discourage competition and keep prices high, according to the Department of Justice.

The $96.5 million represents the combined nationwide settlement total. Individual payout amounts have not been disclosed.