A lawsuit brought by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on behalf of 49 states has been settled by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
GSK, the world’s second largest drug company, has agreed to pay 14 million to dispose of charges it fraudulently tried to delay competitors from marketing a generic version of its anti-depressant drug Paxil (also marketed as Seroxat) though frivolous patent-infringement lawsuits.
Although the settlement will serve to end the fraud suit against it, GSK denies any wrongdoing or liability. The company’s position is that: “We made the decision that settling was appropriate to avoid the expense and distraction of protracted litigation.”
The settlement covers the cost of purchases of Paxil by Medicaid.
In a statement from Jay Nixon, the Missouri Attorney General said: “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.”Â
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