Drug company GlaxoSmithKline is paying $750 million to settle allegations that it knowingly manufactured and sold adulterated drugs.
Glaxo will pay $150 million in criminal fines and $600 million in civil penalties.
Several of the company’s drugs were adulterated at one of the company’s plants between 2001 and 2005, including the antidepressant Paxil, the skin-infection ointment Bactroban and the anti-nausea drug Kytril.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
“… [Q]uality problems at the plant … included failing to ensure that Bactroban and Kytril were free of contamination from microorganisms and causing Paxil controlled-release tablets to split, causing the potential distribution of tablets that did not have any therapeutic effect.”
Sources:
Los Angeles Times October 26, 2010
