Schuette Announces $2.

6 Million for Michigan in Consumer Protection

Settlement with GlaxoSmithKline for Unlawful Marketing of Asthma
Drug, Antidepressants
Contact: Joy Yearout 517-373-8060

June 4, 2014
LANSING Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that Michigan will benefit
from a $105 million multi-state settlement to resolve allegations that GlaxoSmithKline unlawfully promoted
its asthma drug, Advair, and antidepressant drugs, Paxil and Wellbutrin. The Complaint and Consent
Judgment filed today in Ingham County Circuit Court alleges that GlaxoSmithKline violated state consumer
protection laws by misrepresenting the uses and qualities of these drugs.
"Patients should always come before profits," said Schuette. "Michigan consumers shouldn't have
to wonder whether financial incentives are negatively influencing their medical care. This settlement will
help put an end to the pharmaceutical companies' practice of promoting their drugs for uses that haven't
been approved by the FDA, and ensure patient safety comes first."
The settlement signals a major change in the way pharmaceutical sales teams are motivated and
paid for the ultimate benefit of consumers. The Consent Judgment entered today requires GSK to continue
its Patient First Program for five years, through March 2019. The Patient First Program reduces financial
incentives for sales representatives to engage in deceptive marketing.
In addition, the settlement requires scientifically trained personnel to be ultimately responsible for
developing and approving responses to health care provider questions and for these responses to be
unbiased and non-promotional. GSK is also prohibited from disseminating information that describes any
off-label use of a GSK product, unless such information and materials are consistent with applicable FDA
regulations.

Schuette recovered $2,618,677.07 of the settlement, which will go toward the State's General
Fund.
Today's settlement will add to the more than $127.3 million recovered from drug companies by
Schuette and his Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) since he took office in 2011, resulting from criminal
restitution orders, civil judgments, court orders and settlements requiring the return of funds to the Medicaid
Program.
The states that participated in the settlement announced today are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont,
Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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