Reply #21: Glaxo Settles U.S. Fraud Charges - Pays $150 Million Fine [View All]

[UpInArms]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/21/business/21glaxo.html

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (AP) - GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay more than $150 million to settle fraud accusations over the pricing and marketing of two antinausea drugs, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

The company, according to the government, engaged in an effort to inflate the price of the two drugs, Zofran and Kytril, for the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, which reimburse health care providers based on the manufacturers' prices. The drugs are used mainly to counteract nausea brought on by chemotherapy and radiation.

But according to the Justice Department, the company charged health care providers less for the drugs, knowing that the providers would be able to pocket the difference.

GlaxoSmithKline, which is based in London and has its American offices in Philadelphia and North Carolina, did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

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