Sanofi, Bristol Myers directed to pay USD 834 million over Plavix warning label
Ochiai, who presided over a four week, non jury trial conducted entirely over Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ordered Bristol Myers and Sanofi to each pay USD 417 million in penalties.;
New Delhi: A judge in Hawaii on Monday ordered Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Sanofi SA to pay more than $834 million to the state for failing to warn non-white patients properly of health risks from its blood thinner Plavix.
Judge Dean Ochiai in Honolulu concluded the companies engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices from 1998 to 2010 by failing to change the drug's label to warn doctors and patients despite knowing some of the risks.
Hawaii Attorney General Clare Connors, whose office sued the companies in 2014, said the ruling "puts the pharmaceutical industry on notice that it will be held accountable for conduct that deceives the public and places profit above safety."
Bristol-Myers and Sanofi, which produced Plavix in a partnership, in a joint statement vowed to appeal, saying the decision was "unsupported by the law and at odds with the evidence at trial." They called Plavix safe and effective.
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