The UK based GlaxoSmithKline plead guilty to misdemeanor criminal fraud in a case brought by the US Department of Justice and reached a settlement to pay the largest such fine and penalty to date, $3 billion. The charges stem from the company’s failure to release safety data and for marketing the drugs for use that hadn’t been tested or approved. The drugs include antidepressants Paxil and Wellbutrin and diabetes drug Avandia.
From SeekingAlpha
In the largest settlement ever, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed to pay the settlement of all settlements clocking in at $3 billion to the Federal Government. How did the mountain of penalties get so behemoth? Count just about every disparate egregious behavior which includes fraudulent marketing and using undue influence in swaying the intellectual capital of prescribing physicians by using a trove of gifts and other sundry item, and roll them all up and you arrive at a this lofty sum. This sets a new standard in terms of being the largest healthcare fraud settlement in history, eclipsing Pfizer’s (PFE) 2009 $2 billion payment.
GSK, though its US PAC, The GlaxoSmithKline Political Action Committee FEC ID:C00199703, has contributed thousands to Oregon lawmakers including Senator Jeff Kruse. In fact, Kruse is popular with many pharmaceutical companies with contributions from Eli Lilly, Merck, PhRMA – Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America along with other health related lobbyists.
If someone had the time to analyze Kruse’s voting patterns on matters of prescription drugs and health care it might be interesting to see if a bias in favor of the industry can be detected.
