Drugmaker to Pay Maine $1.2 Million as Part of National Diabetes Drug Settlement

November 16, 2012

AUGUSTA ? Attorney General William J. Schneider has joined 37 other states in a $90 million settlement with GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK), resolving allegations that the pharmaceutical company unlawfully promoted its diabetes drug, Avandia, by misrepresenting its cardiovascular risks and safety profile.

The settlement will bring more than $1.2 million to the State of Maine.

?Patients rely on safety claims made by pharmaceutical companies,? said Attorney General Schneider. ?This settlement will help ensure that patients are not put at risk by misleading marketing.?

A complaint and consent decree were filed in Kennebec County Superior Court on November 15, 2012 alleging that GSK promoted the diabetes drug to physicians and other healthcare providers with false and misleading representations about its safety and misrepresenting the drug?s cardiovascular benefits. The drug may have actually increased patient risks.

Under the terms of the consent judgment, GSK has agreed to change how it markets and promotes diabetes drugs, and is prohibited from:

Making any false, misleading, or deceptive claims about any diabetes drug;

Making comparative safety claims that are not supported by substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience;

Presenting favorable information once thought valid but rendered invalid by contrary and more credible recent information;

Promoting investigational drugs; or

Misusing statistics or otherwise misrepresenting the nature, applicability, or significance of clinical trials.

The consent judgment also imposes, for at least eight years, a number of requirements relating to GSK?s publication of its study results, including that it register and post all GSK-sponsored clinical trials as required by federal law.

The investigation was led by the Attorneys General of Oregon and Illinois with an Executive Committee consisting of the Attorneys General of Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. Also participating in the settlement are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Carolyn Silsby of Attorney General Schneider?s Consumer Protection Division.