AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine is among 20 states suing six generic drug-makers with a claim that the companies artificially inflated prices for an antibiotic and an oral diabetes medication.

Attorney General Janet Mills says the federal lawsuit accuses the companies of manipulating prices and reducing competition for a pair of drugs that many state residents buy as lower-cost generics.

She accuses the drug-makers of putting profits over people who need affordable medicine.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut. The companies targeted in the lawsuit are Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma USA, Citron Pharma, Mayne Pharma (USA), Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA.

The lawsuit stems from a Connecticut state investigation of the reasons behind prices increases of certain generic pharmaceuticals. That investigation is still ongoing.