Now Spitzer takes on Glaxo and Co

Eliot Spitzer, the New York State Attorney General who brought Wall Street banks to book for bull market excesses, turned his sights on Big Pharma yesterday, accusing GlaxoSmithKline and others of illegally inflating the cost of drugs.

Mr Spitzer launched a claim for damages running into "tens of millions of dollars" against GSK, Pharmacia of the US, and served a pre-litigation notice on France's Aventis.

He said: "These firms each conducted illegal schemes to inflate the cost of drugs for consumers and government-run health plans. They will not pick the pockets of those who need pharmaceuticals to support their dividends and their chief executives' outrageous salaries."

GSK said it would vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit, which mirrors suits from six other states accusing it of offering discounts to doctors, who then claim the full price back from insurers and federal health schemes such as Medicaid and Medicare.

Mr Spitzer said his lawsuit is the first to allege commercial bribery and false statements by the pharmaceuticals companies.

GSK's annual results on Wednesday indicated that more US states were set to join the legal fight against it.

The lawsuits are the latest example of mounting pressure in the US to bring down the spiralling costs of healthcare. GSK is facing a publicity campaign against it by Canadian drug wholesalers who want to offer drugs over the internet to US citizens who want to buy them at the lower Canadian prices.

Jean-Pierre Garnier, GSK's chief executive, is known to regard the advent of Canadian prices in the US – the world's largest drugs market – as the single biggest threat to Big Pharma profitability.

There are also signs that US courts are taking a harsher line on patent litigation, with a view to allowing cheaper copycat drugs on to the market sooner.