The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed today to a $750 million in a US government lawsuit over a number of defective drugs. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2004 under the U.S. False Claims Act, and stems from the sale of a number of mislabeled drugs that originated in the company's plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico. The suit accused GSK of selling tainted drugs under false pretenses. The affected drugs include:

Abreva

Albenza

Avandia

Avandamet

Bactroban

Cimetidine

Compazine

Coreg

Denavir

Dyazide

Dyrenium

Ecotrin

Factive

Kytril

Paxil

Paxil CR

Relafen

Tagamet

Thorazine

Stelazine

This case was most dramatically illustrated by the seizure of affected medications by US Marshalls in March 2005. The seized lots were of Paxil CR and Avandamet, where the tablets did not have accurate amounts of active ingredients. The Paxil CR tablets were prone to splitting and may have included either no active ingredient, or had an active ingredient but did not have the time-release feature. The action came after a voluntary recall of tainted drugs by GSK failed to include all affected lots. Avandamet is a variation of Avandia, and the affected tablets may have contained an inaccurate dose of the dangerous drug rosiglitazone.

According to the government's filing, the marketing of defective drugs "arose out of chronic, serious deficiencies in the quality assurance function at the Cidra plant and the defendants' ongoing serious violations of the laws and regulations designed to ensure the fitness of drug products for use."

If you or a loved one was affected by these or other tainted drugs, the lawyers of The Cochran Firm can help. Please call or email us today to learn how we can help you.