Drug Giant Glaxo Pleads Guilty, Fined $3B for Drug Marketing

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline will plead guilty and pay $3 billion to resolve federal criminal and civil inquiries arising from the company's illegal promotion of some of its products, its failure to report safety data and alleged false price reporting, the Justice Department announced Monday.

The company agreed to plead guilty to three criminal counts, including two counts of introducing misbranded drugs — Paxil and Wellbutrin — and one count of failing to report safety data about the drug Avandia to the Food and Drug Administration.

The $3 billion fine will be the largest penalty ever paid by a drug company, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said. The company also agreed to be monitored by government officials for five years to attempt to ensure the company's compliance, Cole said. Under the terms of the plea agreement, GSK will pay a total of $1 billion, including a criminal fine of $956,814,400. The company also will pay $2 billion to resolve civil claims under the federal government's False Claims Act...