U.S. v. GSK
In the largest health care fraud s ettlement in history, U.K. drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline plc agreed to pay a total of $3 billion in penalties to the U.S. government on July 2. The company pleaded guilty to criminal allegations that it had illegally promoted two drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin, for “off-label” uses and failed to report safety data on a third, Avandia. For those charges, it paid nearly $1 billion in criminal fines. The company also agreed to pay $2 billion to settle civil allegations that it reported false “best prices” to the government; made misleading statements about Avandia’s safety; and promoted seven other drugs for unapproved uses. GSK did not admit to any wrongdoing in connection with the civil claims.
