Drug companies to pay Hawaii $700 million to settle Plavix blood thinner lawsuit
HONOLULU (AP) — Pharmaceutical companies have agreed to pay Hawaii $700 million to settle its lawsuit over the efficacy and safety of the blood thinner Plavix, the state attorney general's office announced Friday.
A court ruling last year ordered Bristol Myers Squibb Company and three U.S.-based subsidiaries of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi to pay a combined $916 million.
But before an appeal was decided, a settlement was reached for the lower amount, the attorney general's office said.
A statement distributed by Sanofi said the companies 'are pleased to resolve this litigation, and to continue their companies' focus on discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines to patients.'
'Plavix has helped millions of people with cardiovascular disease around the world for nearly 30 years and it continues to be endorsed as a first-line therapy by leading treatment guidelines across the globe,' it added.
First Circuit Court Judge James Ashford found that there was a risk that about 30% of patients, particularly non-Caucasians, might have a 'diminished response' to Plavix but the companies did not update their labels, Attorney General Anne Lopez said last year.
Gov. Josh Green called it a 'landmark settlement' and a 'major victory' for the state.
The settlement divides the $700 million equally between Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi, with the funds to be paid by wire transfer by June 9, the attorney general's office said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
40 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Chelsea signs French defender Sarr from sister club Strasbourg
LONDON (AP) — Chelsea signed a top young player from its sister club by bringing in French teenage defender Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg on Monday. Strasbourg, which plays in France's top league, is owned by the consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital that bought Chelsea in 2022. The 19-year-old Sarr is a France under-20 international who was a regular last season as Strasbourg finished in seventh place to seal a place in the Conference League playoffs. He was previously at Lens and Lyon. Chelsea won the Conference League last season and will play in the Champions League after finishing in fourth place in the Premier League. Strasbourg was bought by Chelsea's ownership group, BlueCo, in 2023. Chelsea said Sarr had signed a contract until 2033 but didn't disclose the transfer fee. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
NATO chief Rutte calls for 400% increase in the alliance's air and missile defense
LONDON (AP) — NATO members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400% to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday. Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a 'quantum leap in our collective defense' to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Rutte's speech. Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending. Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defense spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3% by 2034. Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5% of economic output on military spending and another 1.5% on 'defense-related expenditure' such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said last week he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25. At the moment, 22 of the 32 member countries meet or exceed NATO's current 2% target. The new target would meet a demand by President Donald Trump that member states spend 5% of gross domestic product on defense. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that don't contribute enough. Rutte plans to say in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London that NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400% increase in air and missile defense. 'We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,' he plans to say. 'Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.' European NATO members, led by the U.K. and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defense posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in Ukraine. Last week the U.K. government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become 'a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.' The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defenses since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Public employees in Iraq's Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
BAGHDAD (AP) — Tensions have escalated between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the country's north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move 'collective punishment' and threatened to retaliate. A long-running dispute It's the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute between officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company and filed a case against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkey was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973. Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad's favor. Attempts to reach a deal to restart exports have repeatedly stalled. Last month, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government traveled to Washington, where he inked two major energy deals with U.S. companies. The federal government in Iraq then sued in an Iraqi court, asserting that it was illegal for the regional government to make the deals without going through Baghdad. Iraq cuts off funds for public employees in Kurdistan The Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced a decision last month to halt funding for salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region. The move sparked widespread outrage in Irbil, triggering strong political and public reactions. The ministry said in a statement that the decision was due to the Kurdish regional authorities' 'failure to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, as stipulated in the federal budget laws.' It added that any transfer of funds would be conditional on 'the region's commitment to transparency and financial accountability.' The federal Ministry of Oil accused Irbil of failing to deliver crude oil produced in the region's fields to the ministry for export through the state-run SOMO company, which it said had led to massive financial losses amounting to billions of dollars. The ministry warned that 'continued non-compliance jeopardizes Iraq's international reputation and obligations, forcing the federal government to reduce oil production in other provinces to stay within Iraq's OPEC quota — which includes Kurdistan's production, regardless of its legality.' Accusations of oil smuggled out of Kurdistan Baghdad has also accused Irbil of smuggling oil out of the country. An Iraqi official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly said the government had tracked 240 cases of illegal border crossings from Iraq's Kurdistan Region into Iran between Dec. 25, 2024, and May 24, 2025, aimed at smuggling oil derivatives. The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources in a statement called those allegations 'a smokescreen to distract from widespread corruption and smuggling in other parts of Iraq. The KRG agreed to sell its oil through SOMO, opened an escrow account, and handed over revenues — yet Baghdad failed to meet its financial obligations.' It accused the federal government of being responsible for the halt in oil exports via Turkey due to the lawsuit it filed in 2023 and said the Kurdish region had delivered over 11 million barrels of oil to the Ministry of Oil without receiving any financial compensation. The ministry accused Baghdad of 'violating the constitution and pursuing a deliberate policy of collective punishment and starvation against the people of the Kurdistan Region' through the halt in funding for salaries. Barzani in a statement on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday described the withholding of salaries as an 'unjust and oppressive decision' and a 'policy of mass starvation' comparable to the chemical attacks and 'genocide' launched by Iraq's former longtime strongman ruler, Saddam Hussein, against the Kurds. 'The people of Kurdistan have resisted with steadfastness and courage in the face of all forms of pressure and tyranny' and 'regret was the fate of the tyrants,' he said. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. In the meantime, residents of the Kurdish region feel caught in the middle of the yearslong political dispute once again. Saman Ali Salah, a public school teacher from the city of Sulaimaniyah, said the salary cutoff comes at a particularly bad time for him — his daughter was hit by a car 40 days ago and is still in the hospital. He blamed both Baghdad and Irbil for the situation. 'All the money I had was spent on transportation from the house to the hospital and I haven't paid my rent for the past two months,' Salah said. 'I don't know what to do. All I can say is that God will take revenge on these so-called officials on Judgement Day.' ___ Associated Press journalist Salam Salim in Irbil, Iraq contributed to this report.
