Consumer Claims Process Set Up in GlaxoSmithKline Settlement

(Phoenix, Ariz. – Feb. 8, 2007) Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced that a claims process has been established for eligible consumers to receive part of the $70 million settlement reached in August 2006 with drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), resolving allegations that the drug company set fraudulently inflated prices for certain GSK drugs.

Goddard filed a lawsuit in December 2005 against 42 pharmaceutical companies, including GSK, alleging that they engaged in deceptive trade practices by manipulating the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) of their prescription drugs. The AWP is used as a benchmark for prescription drug sales in the United States.

GSK is the first drug manufacturer to settle the AWP claims. While the settlement releases GSK from any further claims, the lawsuit against the other defendants is unaffected.

As part of the GSK settlement, 30 percent of the $70 million settlement will go to consumers who incurred payments based on AWP for a list of specific Medicare Part B covered drugs manufactured by GSK. The remaining 70 percent will go to third-party payers, including health plans, HMOs and others who purchased certain GSK drugs.

GSK drugs that are part of the settlement are:
Kytril Injectable (Granisetron HCL) Lanoxin (Digoxin)
Zogran Injectable (Ondansetron HCL) Navelbine (Vinorelbine Tartrate)
Alkeran (Melphalan) Ventolin (Albuterol)
Kytril Tablets (Garisetron HCL) Zovirax (Acycovir)
Myleran (Busulfan) Zofran Orals (Ondansetron HCL)
Retrovir (Zidovudine) Zantac (Ranitidine HCL)
Imitrex (Sumatriptan)  

The claims process allows Arizona residents who made payments based on AWP for these drugs to receive part of the settlement. Eligible consumers who may submit a claim include:

  • Those who made, or who incurred an obligation to make, a percentage co-payment under Medicare Part B for any of these drugs between January 1, 1991 and January 1, 2005.
  • Those who made, or incurred an obligation to make, a percentage co-payment for these drugs under private insurance or who paid the price of the drug out-of-pocket between January 1, 1991 and August 10, 2006.

For more information or to obtain a claim form, consumers can contact the Claims Administrator through the Web site at www.gsksettlement.com; by phone at 1-888-568-7645 (hearing impaired call 1-561-253-7732); or by writing to GSK AWP Litigation Administrator, c/o Complete Claims Solutions, LLC, P.O. Box 24743, West Palm Beach, FL 33416.

Goddard joined Attorneys General from Connecticut, Montana, Nevada and New York in this settlement.

All claims must be postmarked on or before May 28, 2007.