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Glaxo pays $90 million to settle states' Avandia claims

GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. agreed to pay $90 million to settle claims by 37 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the District of Columbia that the company illegally promoted the Avandia diabetes medicine.

A bottle of Avandia pills. A review released July 9 by federal health scientists reinforces potential ties between the diabetes pill Avandia and heart attack and death, opening the door for government action, including a possible withdrawal of the once blockbuster drug. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
A bottle of Avandia pills. A review released July 9 by federal health scientists reinforces potential ties between the diabetes pill Avandia and heart attack and death, opening the door for government action, including a possible withdrawal of the once blockbuster drug. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)Read more
    by By Jef Feeley and Catherine Larkin, Bloomberg News, Inquirer
    Published 

GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. agreed to pay $90 million to settle claims by 37 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the District of Columbia that the company illegally promoted the Avandia diabetes medicine.

The settlement resolves claims by state attorneys general that the London-based Glaxo misled consumers about whether Avandia caused heart attacks and strokes in order to pump up sales.

The company has paid more than $3 billion to resolve government probes of its marketing of Avandia and other medications, as well as patient lawsuits over the diabetes drug.

"This settlement, which is covered by existing provisions, marks an important step in resolving long-standing legal matters," Bernadette King, a spokeswoman for the company, said in a statement. Glaxo has large operations in the Philadelphia area.

The settlements are part of Glaxo's push to resolve legal issues stretching back more than a decade. Company officials agreed in July to plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges and pay $3 billion to settle U.S. criminal and civil investigations into whether it illegally marketed Avandia and other medications.

One of the criminal charges stemmed from the company's failure to properly report clinical safety data about Avandia, according to court filings.

The company also agreed to pay more than $700 million to settle patients' claims that Avandia caused heart attacks and strokes, people familiar with the accords said last year.

The settlement with the states, which requires Glaxo to make changes to the way it discloses and uses safety data about its drugs, "is tough, fair, and it holds GlaxoSmithKline accountable for how the company marketed Avandia," Tom Horne, Arizona's attorney general, said in a statement.

Pennsylvania will get $4 million and New Jersey $2.5 million under the accord.

Six states - Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Utah, New Mexico, and West Virginia - opted out of the accord, King said, and other states declined to participate without seeking compensation.