Avandia Litigation

In Feburary 2011, GlaxoSmithKline Plc reportedly agreed to pay over $250 million dollars to settle approx 6000 cases as part of ongoing Avandia Litigation. Avandia, which was approved in 1999, is a diabetes drug which is designed to increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. This settlement was the 2nd settlement reported as part of the ongoing Avandia litigation. Bloomberg news had previously reported that Avandia litigation caused GlaxoSmithKline to settle 10,000 lawsuits for $460 million in July 2010. In more avandia litigation news, it was also reported GlaxoSmithKline settled 700 cases for approx $60 Million for Avandia litigation.

In January of 2008, the FDA published a report estimating that heart attacks caused by Avandia could be nearly 83,000. Then after a 2 year Senate Finance Committee investigation, the report concluded that that GlaxoSmithKline knew of possible Avandia heart risks for years before the initial study. "It can be argued that GSK had a duty to warn patients and the FDA of the Company's concerns," the finance committee report said. "Instead, GSK executives attempted to intimidate independent physicians, focused on strategies to minimize or misrepresent findings that Avandia may increase cardiovascular risk, and sought ways to downplay findings that a competing drug might reduce cardiovascular risk."

Avandia Litigation & GlaxoSmithKline

Then in July of 2010, GlaxoSmithKline reported set aside $460 Million to settle all the potential Avandia cases. The $460 million that was set aside for Avandia litigation, would average out to appox $46,000 per each litigant.

However, UBS analyst Gbola Amusa told Bloomberg this past February: "This is exceptionally good news given the market has discounted $6 billion in liability, We had outlined an absolute worst-case scenario where $500,000 per case would have to be paid."

As of April 2011, the final Avandia Litigation settlement figures have not been finalized. This has left thousands of people who have suffered from the side effects for Avandia waiting and worrying about how to pay their bills. And while the Avandia litigation continues, Doctors are still prescribing the drug, despite warnings, to patients who are willing to take it.

Further complicating Avandia Litigation is a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Louisiana against GlaxoSmithKline. Louisiana AG Buddy Caldwell alleged in Feb 2011, that GlaxoSmithKline knowingly marketed a drug that could cause harm to patients. Caldwell argues that Louisiana’s Medicaid program paid GlaxoSmithKline nearly $36 Million for drug that was life-threatening, medically unnecessary and/or of substandard quality. The Attorney General is asking for $12.3 billion as part of the Avandia litigation.

Similar, the Utah Attorney General also sued GlaxoSmithKline in November 2010. The suit asked for $7.8 Million which is the amount of money Utah’s Medicaid spent on Avandia in 2010.

Such lawsuits, fines and controversy is nothing new for the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. In February of 2010, the watchdog group Public Citizen reported the Avandia marketer has been fined more than any company in the United States. Even without the reported Avandia settlements, GlaxoSmithKline, has paid $4.6 billion in penalties.