Avandia Suit Filed By Louisiana Attorney General Over Fraud

Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline for fraud involving the diabetes drug Avandia, alleging that the drug maker hid information about potential side effects of Avandia

The Avandia suit was filed last week by Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, claiming that GlaxoSmithKline collected more than $36 million in Medicaid reimbursements from the state as a result of actions that violated consumer protection and unfair trade practices laws in Louisiana.

Utah filed a similar Avandia lawsuit in November, seeking $7.8 million from GlaxoSmithKline, which is the amount the state says it paid for the drug from January 1, 2002 through June 30, 2010. Many of the Avandia prescriptions paid for by Utah were part of a Medicaid prescription drug program that provided “medically necessary” drugs to the poor that they could not afford.

Did You Know?

Millions of Philips CPAP Machines Recalled

Philips DreamStation, CPAP and BiPAP machines sold in recent years may pose a risk of cancer, lung damage and other injuries.

Learn More

Avandia (rosiglitazone) was first approved in 1998 to treat type 2 diabetes by helping control blood sugar levels. The drug has been used by millions of diabetics in the U.S., but sales began to plummet in mid-2007, following the concerns about potential Avandia heart risks.

A “black box” warning was added to Avandia in the United States in November 2007, but many critics continued to argue that the warnings were not strong enough and called for an Avandia recall to be issued in the United States.

In September 2010, the FDA decided not to recall Avandia, allowing the medication to remain on the market with severe restrictions on who can use the product. The agency determined that only patients who have failed to control their diabetes through every other available medication should be given access to the medication, and ordered the drug’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline, to develop a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) to make sure the drug is adequately restricted.

GlaxoSmithKline has faced thousands of injury lawsuits over Avandia that were filed by people who allege that the drug maker placed their desire for profits before patient safety by failing to adequately warn about the risk of heart problems from Avandia. A number of Avandia settlements have reportedly been reached by GlaxoSmithKline in an effort to resolve the litigation.

Image Credit: |

1 Comments

  • AliceJuly 10, 2011 at 9:43 am

    Does this mean Louisiana residence will have the opournity to present a claim?

Share Your Comments

I authorize the above comments be posted on this page*

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Top Stories

Gardasil Lawsuits Over Failure To Warn Doctors About HPV Vaccine Risks Cleared To Move Forward
Gardasil Lawsuits Over Failure To Warn Doctors About HPV Vaccine Risks Cleared To Move Forward (Posted today)

A federal judge has cleared Gardasil lawsuits to move forward, after paring down plaintiffs' claims to those alleging Merck either failed to warn, or fraudulently concealed, the HPV vaccine's risks from the medical community.