New York State has announced a $14 million multi-state settlement with GlaxoSmithKline over accusations that the drug maker used fraudulent tactics to delay cheap generic versions of its antidepressant Paxil.
The settlement recovers claims related to state purchases of Paxil, known chemically as paroxetine hydrochloride, which were excluded from a separate class-action settlement.
The $14 million will be distributed among the 49 states involved in the settlement, Spitzer said. West Virginia reached a separate deal with Glaxo.
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said New York will receive about $1.4 million in settlement proceeds.
The case involved claims that GlaxoSmithKline used fraudulent litigation to delay generic competition.
In 2004, Spitzer settled another case with Glaxo over Paxil. That lawsuit had charged Glaxo with withholding negative information regarding possible increased risk of suicidal thoughts among patients taking the popular antidepressant.
Under that settlement, Glaxo agreed to publicly disclose information from its clinical trials.
