Drugmakers to pay Hawaii $700M to settle lawsuit over blood thinner

Yahoo

10-05-2025

Hawaii will receive $700 million from pharmaceutical giants Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi in a landmark settlement over the blood thinner Plavix, Gov. Josh Green announced today—one of the largest payouts in state history.
The settlement ends over a decade of litigation over the companies' failure to warn that Plavix was less effective or ineffective in Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian populations. The drug, which relies on liver enzyme activation, was prescribed more than 837, 000 times in Hawaii between 1998 and 2010.
'After nearly a decade of litigation … the state has reached a landmark settlement, ' Green said at a news conference this afternoon. 'It's a historic result that we're grateful for.'
On May 21, 2024, in a decade-old case alleging unfair and deceptive practices against the makers of the drug Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi.
Rather than continue through appeals, the parties agreed to the $700 million settlement announced today to ensure a faster payout. The agreement divides the total amount equally between Bristol-Myers and Sanofi, with the money scheduled to be paid via wire transfer by June 9, officials said.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez said today that the result sends a message to corporations operating in the islands. 'The attorney general's office will be relentless in our pursuit of compliance with our consumer protection laws, ' she said.
The state's lawsuit, filed in 2014 with the help of two private law firms, alleged that Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi failed to disclose that their drug was less effective in patients with certain liver-enzyme mutations more prevalent in people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent representing up to 30 % of people who took the drug in Hawaii.
After the 2024 award, officials with the drugmakers said in a statement that they strongly disagree with the court's penalty and that they would appeal the decision. 'The unprecedented penalties awarded in this case are unwarranted and out of proportion, ' the companies said. 'The overwhelming body of scientific evidence demonstrates that Plavix is a safe and effective therapy, regardless of a patient's race or genetics.'
The case, closely watched nationwide, raised concerns over racial disparities in pharmaceutical efficacy and transparency.
Green credited the Attorney General's Office and outside counsel, including attorney Rick Fried, for their role in securing the deal.
'It's been 13 years—we've been working on this two trials up to the Supreme Court and back. We were going back again, and we finally were able to work out this resolution, ' he said today.
Officials say the funds will support public health and underfunded health services across the state. 'This result will help the people of Hawaii, ' Green said.
The two companies began selling Plavix in 1998 as a better but more expensive alternative to aspirin for reducing heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and vascular death.
In 2010, Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi were required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to add a 'black box ' warning on the label about diminished effectiveness for poor metabolizers of the drug with certain genes. The disclosure prompted the state's lawsuit.
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