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Glaxo facing £1.5bn legal bill over diabetes drug
GlaxoSmithKline expects to record a legal charge of £1.57bn for the second quarter after settling the “substantial majority” of claims relating to its diabetes pill Avandia.
The drugmaker said the charge would cover not only settlements for Avandia but also other long-standing legal cases, including an investigation into its former factory at Cidra in Puerto Rico and anti-trust litigation over antidepressant Paxil.
The after-tax cost of the legal charge will be £1.35bn.
Glaxo did not specify the amount it was setting aside to settle liability claims over Avandia, which US health watchdogs have allowed to stay on the market but with additional warnings over heart risks.
Glaxo said the agreement in principle over Cidra was for a total of £500m.