GlaxoSmithKline To Pay $3 Billion- Bribery, Fraud

GlaxoSmithKline To Pay $3 Billion To Settle Bribery, Fraud Allegations With US.

The announcement by the Justice Department of a settlement with drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline of bribery allegations generated heavy media coverage last night and this morning, including more than seven minutes of coverage on network newscasts.

        The CBS Evening News (7/2, story 6, 2:50, Pelley) reported, "The US government is calling it the biggest case of healthcare fraud in American history. The British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline is accused of withholding important safety information about the diabetes drug Avandia [rosiglitazone] and illegally promoting two other drugs for unapproved uses. GSK agreed to pay $3 billion in fines."

        NBC Nightly News (7/2, story 4, 2:00, Williams) reported, "At the launch of asthma drug Advair prosecutors say global drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pushed the sales force to push hard even for uses not Federally approved. Today the company admitted its sales force bribed doctors to prescribe its drugs by offering such incentives as Hawaiian vacations and tickets to Madonna concerts."

        ABC World News (7/2, story 4, 2:15, Muir) reported, "The goal to rev up sales as part of what prosecutors say was a culture of greed where patient safety took a back seat to profit. The government claims GSK engaged in an illegal marketing campaign where drugs were promoted for disorders where there was no medical evidence they would help. Allegations of promoting the drug Paxil for treating depression in patients under age 18 even though the FDA's has never approved it for kids."

        The AP (7/3, Holland) reports, "GlaxoSmithKline LLC will pay $3 billion and plead guilty to promoting two popular drugs for unapproved uses and to failing to disclose important safety information on a third in the largest health care fraud settlement in US history, the Justice Department said Monday. Accompanying the criminal case was a civil settlement in which the government said the company's improper marketing included providing doctors with expensive resort vacations, European hunting trips, high-paid speaking tours and even tickets to a Madonna concert."

        The Los Angeles Times (7/3, Hsu) reports, "The agreement is the largest healthcare fraud settlement in history, spanning nearly every state, according to the Justice Department. It's also the largest payment ever by a drug company. The settlement is 'unprecedented in both size and scope,'" Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in a statement.

        USA Today (7/2) reports, "Under the terms of the plea agreement, GSK will pay a total of $1 billion, including a criminal fine of $956,814,400. The company also will pay $2 billion to resolve civil claims under the federal government's False Claims Act. Glaxo is pleading guilty to these violations of FDA regulations, which are misdemeanors. It has set aside $3.5 billion to cover the cost of the fines and other penalties related to the government's seven-year probe of the company's marketing practices for Paxil [paroxetin], Wellbutrin [bupropion] and Avandia, three of its blockbuster drugs."

        Bloomberg News (7/3, Feeley, Stern, Fisk) quotes Deputy HHS Secretary Bill Corr saying, "Today's historic settlement is a major milestone in our efforts to stamp out health care fraud. For a long time, our health care system had been a target for cheaters." Bloomberg adds, "Federal prosecutors began an investigation in Colorado in 2004, later taken over by the US attorney in Massachusetts, into whether Glaxo promoted drugs for unapproved uses and into ways Glaxo potentially influenced doctors."

        In a front-page story, the New York Times (7/3, A1, Thomas, Schmidt, Subscription Publication) reports, "The fine against GlaxoSmithKline over Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia makes this year a record for money recovered by the federal government under its so-called whistle-blower law. In May, Abbott Laboratories settled for $1.6 billion over its marketing of the antipsychotic drug Depakote. And an agreement with Johnson & Johnson that could result in a fine of as much as $2 billion is said to be imminent over its off-label promotion of another antipsychotic drug Risperdal."

        The Washington Times (7/3, Cunningham) reports, "The FDA, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services also helped to investigate GSK's illegal activities." The Times adds, "GSK agreed to plead guilty to a three-count criminal information, including two counts of introducing misbranded drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin, into interstate commerce and one count of failing to report safety data about the drug Avandia to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). GSK's guilty plea and sentence is not final until accepted by the US District Court."

        The Wall Street Journal (7/3, B1, Whalen, Barrett, Loftus, Subscription Publication) reports that GSK CEO Andrew Witty said in a statement, "Today brings to resolution difficult, long-standing matters for GSK. Whilst these originate in a different era for the company, they cannot and will not be ignored. On behalf of GSK, I want to express our regret and reiterate that we have learned from the mistakes that were made."