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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSouth Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster said Friday that the state has reached a $45 million settlement with drug
maker Eli Lilly and Co. over the company’s marketing of an anti-psychotic drug.
McMaster’s office said the agreement
is the second largest settlement deal in state history.
McMaster sued the Indianapolis-based drug maker in 2007,
arguing it had improperly marketed Zyprexa. The settlement recovers state funds used to treat illnesses allegedly caused by
the drug.
Earlier this month, McMaster said he would return campaign contributions from two attorneys he hired
to assist the state in its lawsuit.
Lilly officials did not immediately return a message Friday.
Lilly
confirmed earlier this month that it had reached a tentative settlement with South Carolina, but did not disclose a dollar
figure.
Zyprexa, which boasts $4.7 billion in annual sales, has cost Lilly lots of legal trouble, sparking thousands
of patient lawsuits as well as investigations by federal and state governments.
In January, Lilly agreed to pay
$1.42 billion to federal and state governments to resolve a lawsuit over Zyprexa marketing brought by the U.S. Justice Department.
South Carolina did not join that settlement.
More than 30 states have sued Lilly over Zyprexa.
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