July 20, 2012
Reports from The Denver Post indicate that GlaxoSmithKline’s recent $3 billion settlement with the federal government was the largest payment in US history by a pharmaceutical company. The settlement came following claims that the company practiced illegal promotion and pricing for some of its medications.
The company was accused of marketing certain medications for “off-Label” use, which means using the drug to treat a condition for which it is not approved to treat. The drug injuries that resulted from this practice spurred a significant number of lawsuits. Some of the medications in question include:
- Paxil
- Wellbutrin
- Advair
- Lamictal
- Zofran
Doctors and pharmacists were allegedly receiving kickback pricing to promote and prescribe the company’s medications, and company representatives had been offering doctors expensive vacations and trips. In Colorado, the company provided ski trips, hockey tickets, and high-paying speaking engagements as a means of persuading doctors to prescribe their medications.
The charges were brought against GlaxoSmithKline after two sales representatives for the company tipped investigators off after being fired for notifying the management of illegal practices.
The State of Colorado will receive a roughly $4.5 million dollar share of the settlement, which will be used to benefit government healthcare programs, like Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs.
The Denver Personal Injury Lawyers with the McDivitt Law Firm would encourage anyone who has been negatively affected by a drug prescribed to you by a doctor to speak with a Drug Injury Lawyer to evaluate their legal options.
