Alabama wins second Medicaid fraud verdict
Executive Summary
An Alabama state court jury finds GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis liable for $80.9 million and $33.2 million in compensatory damages, respectively, for inflating the average wholesale prices of prescription drugs. GSK and Novartis announced they would appeal the verdict. The Attorney General of Alabama has sued 79 pharmaceutical companies for overcharging the state Medicaid agency. In February a jury issued a $215 million verdict against AstraZeneca, which a judge subsequently reduced to $160 million (1"The Pink Sheet," June 23, 2008, In Brief)