Hawaii court orders pharmaceutical companies to pay $916 million in lawsuit against blood thinner Plavix

HONOLULU– A Hawaii court ordered the makers and distributors of the blood thinner Plavix to pay the state a combined total of $916 million after finding that the companies failed to disclose the drug’s efficacy and safety, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday. .

The judgment was handed down against Bristol Myers Squibb Company and three US-based subsidiaries of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi said in a joint statement that they disagree with the penalty and plan to appeal.

First Circuit Court Judge James Ashford concluded there was a risk that about 30% of patients, especially non-Caucasians, could have a “diminished response” to Plavix, but the companies did not update their label, he said. Attorney General Anne Lopez.

“As Judge Ashford found after a trial, these pharmaceutical defendants acted in bad faith and marketed a product that could have potentially devastating effects on Hawaii patients, when they knew the drug would not be effective for a substantial portion of the population,” he said. Lopez. in a statement.

Hawaii filed the lawsuit in 2014, saying more than 1 million prescriptions for Plavix have been issued on the islands since 1998, when the drug was first marketed.

Hawaii was the fifth state to file a lawsuit alleging unfair and deceptive marketing of Plavix, following Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia and California.

The companies, in an emailed statement, said the overwhelming body of scientific evidence demonstrates that Plavix is ​​safe and effective, regardless of the patient’s race and genetics. He called the penalties “unjustified and disproportionate.”

He said the Hawaii case was the last remaining legal case and was a “clear outlier” given how the companies had successfully defended themselves against Plavix litigation in other states.

“Plavix has helped millions of patients with cardiovascular disease worldwide for more than 20 years, is approved as a first-line therapy by leading treatment guidelines worldwide, and remains the standard of care,” the companies stated.