Glaxo to pay $14 mln in Paxil settlement: Spitzer

Last Updated: 2006-03-29 11:00:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Tuesday announced a $14 million multi-state settlement with GlaxoSmithKline over accusations that the British drug maker used fraudulent tactics to delay cheap generic versions of its antidepressant Paxil.

The settlement recovers claims related to state Medicaid 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.

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.