Corp-Ethics.com - Report: Glaxo agrees US Paxil settlement

Company	GlaxoSmithKline [Company Info]
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Date	Issue	Title
29th Mar 2006	Questionable Practice	Glaxo agrees US Paxil settlement

Report

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has agreed to pay $14m (£8m) to settle US claims that it fraudulently tried to delay competitors to anti-depressant drug Paxil.

It agreed the deal with Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General, who brought the case on behalf of 49 states.

GSK was accused of using frivolous patent-infringement lawsuits against generic producers of Paxil, keeping the drug's cost higher than necessary.

In reaching the deal, GSK said it denied any wrongdoing or liability.

"We made the decision that settling was appropriate to avoid the expense and distraction of protracted litigation," a company spokeswoman said.

The settlement will cover the cost of drug purchases by Medicaid, the state and federally funded medical programme for low income patients.

"GSK used the courts to hold onto a monopoly for a popular drug and the end result was that consumers - including Medicaid - paid more than they should have," said Jay Nixon, Missouri Attorney General, in a statement.

The company reached a separate deal with Mr Spitzer in 2004 to settle claims that it withheld negative information about Paxil, which is marketed as Seroxat in many markets.

As part of the agreement, it agreed to publish results of clinical trials of new drugs.

Other Reports on GlaxoSmithKline
Date	Issue	Company	Report
29th Jan 2007	Questionable Practice	GlaxoSmithKline	GSK hid paxil suicide link
10th Aug 2006	Other Issue	GlaxoSmithKline	Glaxo pays $70m to end price row
18th Mar 2005	Other Issue	GlaxoSmithKline	Glaxo shares dip on factory probe
22nd Sep 2004	Questionable Practice	GlaxoSmithKline	Glaxo drops appeal in Aids drug pricing case
6th Sep 2004	Other Issue	GlaxoSmithKline	GSK faces anti-depressant lawsuit
19th May 2004	Other Issue	GlaxoSmithKline	New York sues GlaxoSmithKline
11th May 2004	Fraud Investigation	GlaxoSmithKline	GlaxoSmithKline faces antitrust investigation
22nd Jan 2004	Fraud Investigation	GlaxoSmithKline	$11.1 Million settlement
8th Jan 2004	Questionable Practice	GlaxoSmithKline	£1.5bn Tax Bill
16th Dec 2003	Questionable Practice	GlaxoSmithKline	Glaxo's CEO to scoop 5.7 mln stg a year
25th Jun 2003	Questionable Practice	GlaxoSmithKline	FDA tells Glaxo to pull misleading Flonase ads
25th Jun 2003	Questionable Practice	GlaxoSmithKline	Ordered to pull misleading adverts

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