GlaxoSmithKline to Pay $105 Million in Multistate Settlement--Update

By Michael Calia 

GlaxoSmithKline reached a $105 million settlement with several U.S. states over allegedly unlawful marketing of asthma and antidepressant drugs, several states said Wednesday.

The pharmaceutical company confirmed it had reached an agreement with 44 states and the District of Columbia, resolving claims relating to violations of state trade-practice laws.

"This settlement requires GSK to pay a significant penalty and imposes strong new rules designed to prevent future misrepresentations of GSK products," California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said in a news release.

California is getting the largest portion of the settlement payout, about $7.1 million, Ms. Harris's office said.

The company didn't admit any wrongdoing or liability under the settlement and said the agreement is similar to a settlement it reached with the federal government in 2012. At the time, Glaxo agreed to a $3 billion criminal and civil settlement with the U.S. after federal authorities claimed the company used illegal marketing strategies to promote its Advair asthma inhaler.

The settlement with the states centers on allegations dating back 14 years. The states said Glaxo illegally promoted Advair, as well as its Paxil and Wellbutrin antidepressants.

Under the agreement, Glaxo "is prohibited from providing incentive payments to its salespeople, which serve to encourage off-label promotion of drugs, and from using paid doctors to promote its products, " the California attorney general's office said.

For its part, Glaxo said it has stopped paying doctors to speak about its products or attend medical conferences. The company added that it no longer links the pay of its sales representatives to the number of prescriptions issued for Glaxo drugs. The company said it implemented its new compensation model for sales reps in the U.S. in 2011, and that it plans to roll out the model world-wide over the next two years.

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