GlaxoSmithKline will pay a $90 million settlement to 38 states that claimed it unlawfully promoted its diabetes treatment Avandia (rosiglitazone). The attorneys general of several states confirmed the action Thursday.
As a result of the settlement, GSK must change the way it promotes its diabetes drugs, including Avandia. The company noted, however, in a statement released Friday, “The company did not admit to any wrongdoing or liability of any kind under these states’ consumer protection laws in this settlement.”
The states charged that GSK did not report some Avandia safety data. They also said the drug manufacturer violated consumer protection laws when it misrepresented heart attack risk with the drug, as well as the safety of its use, alone or in combination with other drugs.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration announced that Avandia was to be pulled from retail pharmacy shelves due to the diabetes drug’s cardiovascular threat to patients. As of Sunday (Nov. 18), only certified doctors are to be able to prescribe the drug, and only to patients who have been alerted to the risks, who have already taken the drug safely, and who have found that other medications did not control their diabetes. These patients can obtain Avandia through mail-order pharmacies.
The states involved in the settlement were: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
