Bristol-Myers Squibb to pay $9.2 million to settle claims in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts attorney general's office reported Tuesday that Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to pay the state's Medicaid programme $9.2 million to settle allegations about improper drug pricing and marketing practices. The payment is the state's share of a national civil settlement announced last September.

According to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Bristol-Myers Squibb allegedly improperly paid wholesalers and pharmacies to increase the market share of its products, inflated wholesale prices of certain products, and marketed its antipsychotic Abilify for unapproved uses in the US. Bristol-Myers Squibb is "pleased to have resolved these matters," noted company spokeswoman Laura Hortas.

Other states which were part of the national settlement also announced Tuesday that they would receive money from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Connecticut is expected to receive about $1.9 million, while New York will receive $40 million and Missouri anticipates being paid more than $11 million by the drugmaker.

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