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A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against GlaxoSmithKline who is accused of improperly manufacturing drugs and selling adulterated drugs.
The settlement includes a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $150 million and a $600 million civil settlement. The whistleblower will receive $96 million of the settlement.
Filed in 2004, the whistleblower lawsuit alleged that GlaxoSmithKline was selling tainted drugs under false pretenses. The medicines, made at a Glaxo plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico, were misidentified as a result of product mix-ups, according to papers filed in federal court in Boston. The affected drugs included the antidepressant Paxil CR and the diabetes treatment Avandamet.