Leiner declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2002, blaming a sudden drop in the price of raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry, which in turn lowered industry prices for the products they manufacture. Surprised by the shift, Leiner was caught with a great deal of now-overpriced material on hand, and they elected to sell their products at a loss in order to maintain market position. They emerged from bankruptcy 42 days later, having paid 25 cents on the dollar for $80 million in debt, while deciding to re-focus their efforts on marketing to large chains. The price drop was later determined to have been caused by collusive price fixing by Hoffmann–La Roche and BASF, in what the United States Department of Justice termed the largest criminal antitrust conspiracy ever uncovered.