Pharma giant to pay $3bn in healthcare fraud case

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to plead guilty and pay $3bn (€2.38bn) to resolve criminal and civil allegations that it illegally promoted prescription drugs and failed to report safety data, the US said.

The settlement, the largest ever in a healthcare fraud case in the US, includes a criminal fine of $956.8m. London-based Glaxo will also forfeit $43m, the US said.

GSK will plead guilty to marketing the drugs Paxil and Wellbutrin for uses not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and for failing to report clinical data on Avandia, federal prosecutors said. The company has agreed to admit to the charges, which are misdemeanors, according to filings by the US in federal court in Boston.