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\f0 \ It is the largest health-care fraud settlement
in U.S. history. \'a0Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline plead guilty Monday to multiple
criminal and civil allegations. \'a0It has agreed to \'a0pay the U.S. government $3 billion.
{\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/07/02/health-glaxosmithkline-fraud-settlement.html"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 CBC}} explains what GSK admitted
to. \'a0 \f1 \uc0\u8232 \u8232
\f0\b \'93Elaborate kickbacks for doctors, and also off-label marketing, in other words,
promoting drugs for uses other than that which they are approved for. The drugs in question,
the antidepressants Paxil and Wellbutrin, as well as Avandea.\'94
\f1\b0 \uc0\u8232 \u8232 \f0 Specifically, GSK agreed it marketed Paxil
to children, despite lacking FDA approval, and marketing Wellbutrin for a variety of
uses which were not tested. The {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18673220"}}{\fldrslt
\cf3 \ul \ulc3 BBC}} reports. \f1 \uc0\u8232 \u8232
\f0\b \'93Now, GlaxoSmithKline has acknowledged that they\'92ve made some very serious mistakes,
saying that they accept that and they\'92re moving on from this.\'94
\f1\b0 \uc0\u8232 \f0 \
But as {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://live.wsj.com/#%218B4944E2-34E8-49F9-80F9-CD6D06713727"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 MarketWatch}} notes, this settlement
is just a drop in the bucket for a corporation as profitable as GSK.\
\pard\pardeftab720\sa240\ql\qnatural
\f1 \cf2 \uc0\u8232 \f0\b \'93Three billion dollars is a lot of
money \'96 it\'92s the largest health care fraud settlement that the U.S. has ever done.
But at the same time, the company made, I believe, 8 billion in profit last year? So,
you know, it\'92s something they can absorb.\'94 \f1\b0 \uc0\u8232 \u8232 {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK
\f0 points out the company\'92s criminal actions predate current CEO Andrew Witty, who seems
to be making a strong effort to restore the company\'92s reputation.
\f1 \uc0\u8232 \u8232 \f0\b \'93He said that employees have been
removed from positions as a result of the changes and that new provisions will allow
the company to take back compensation from executives if they don\'92t adhere to the
company\'92s standards \'85 That may not sound like much, but in the context of an industry
that has almost never seen fit to apologize for anything it is a step in the right direction.\'94
\f1\b0 \uc0\u8232 \u8232 \f0 Witty\'92s shareholders seem to believe
him \'96 GSK\'92s stock price climbed today by 1\'bd points, in spite of the announcement.\
}