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The state of Utah will collect $8.5 million from GlaxoSmithKline as part of the settlement of a lawsuit that alleged the drug giant defrauded the state's Medicaid program through allegedly false and misleading marketing of the diabetes drug Avandia.
GlaxoSmithKline introduced Avandia in 1999 as a new treatment for Type II diabetes that was suppose to sensitize cells to insulin and assist in blood-sugar control.
While the company marketed Avandia as a "wonder drug," studies showed it increased the risk of heart attacks among some users, according to a lawsuit filed in November of 2010 Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Utah Attorney General's Office.
"This settlement is a great outcome in a complex case," Robert Steed, director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, said in a statement.
The two sides reached a settlement to dismiss the case last month.