Ex-Glaxo lawyer charged with obstruction

WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they charged a former GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. executive with obstructing justice and making false statements in an effort to conceal illegal promotion of a company drug.

The Department of Justice alleges that in 2002, Lauren Stevens of Durham, N.C., signed several letters to the Food and Drug Administration denying that her company had promoted an antidepressant drug for unapproved uses. But Stevens knew that the company had paid numerous physicians to give talks touting unapproved uses of the drug, including weight loss, according to the indictment filed Monday.

A spokeswoman for Glaxo confirmed Stevens worked as a vice president in the company's legal department, but has since retired. The spokeswoman confirmed that the drug - not named in the indictment - is Wellbutrin, a former blockbuster-selling product. London-based Glaxo has major operations in the Philadelphia area.

Stevens' lawyer, Brien T. O'Connor, told Bloomberg News in an e-mail that his client was not guilty.

Stevens' indictment marks a rare case of the Department of Justice targeting a specific executive.