AstraZeneca has reached a settlement in two lawsuits claiming the drugmaker falsely marketed one of its products and manipulated the Medicaid program in Texas.
According to one of the lawsuits, AstraZeneca used the state’s Medicaid program to encourage doctors to prescribe its antipsychotic medication, Seroquel, for unapproved indications. The other suit alleged that the company also misled medical professionals by claiming that its high cholesterol drug Crestor was more beneficial than other options.
Attorneys in Texas, where the suits were settled, had been gunning for a $5 billion payout.
The Texas Attorney General called the case “especially disturbing because the well-being of children and the integrity of the state hospital system were jeopardized.”
AstraZeneca denied any wrongdoing but said it was in the best interest of the company to settle the cases.
Read the full Reuters report.