After years of litigation, a Hawaii court judge ordered Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) and Sanofi (SNY) to pay $834 million for deliberately withholding information about the effectiveness of the Plavix blood thinner in East Asian and Pacific Islander individuals, who constitute roughly half of Hawaii’s population.
In a 2014 lawsuit filed by the state, the drug makers were accused of minimizing and concealing trial data and other information showing Plavix was only as effective — or in some cases — less effective than aspirin in treating those patient groups, and that the blood thinner had a higher chance of causing gastrointestinal bleeding. The state also contended the companies knew or should have known Plavix had no effect or a diminished effect on 30% of patients, which could have been identified through a “simple” genetic test.
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