GlaxoSmithKline with fraud settlement of $3 billion

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday slammed GlaxoSmithKline with a $3 billion fine after it failed to report safety data on some of the company’s most popular drugs. It’s the biggest fraud settlement in United States history and the largest payment ever by a health and drug company. The payment includes $1 billion to settle criminal wrongdoing and $2 billion to cover civil liabilities.

GlaxoSmithKline is expected to plead guilty to two counts of introducing misbranded drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin, into interstate commerce. Particularly, the government reported that the drugs were advertised as a treatment for conditions for which they were not approved. Paxil, which treats anxiety and depressive disorders in adults, was marketed to children and adolescents, and Wellbutrin, an antidepressant, was marketed as a weight-loss aid. A third charge involves a failure to report data about the drug Avandia, a diabetes drug, to the Food and Drug Administration between 2001 and 2007. GlaxoSmithKline has also reached a 5-year compliance agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services. “On behalf of GSK, I want to express our regret and reiterate that we have learnt from the mistakes that were made,” CEO Andrew Witty said in a statement, adding that the company has changed its procedures for compliance, marketing, and selling since the incidents.