Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Thursday against Sanofi for allegedly “bribing” healthcare providers to prescribe its drugs instead of competing alternatives.
The Attorney General’s office released a statement alleging that the company created programs to offer services to healthcare providers, which it alleges would constitute kickbacks in violation of the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.
“These services are structured to comply with applicable federal and state laws and are intended to support patients, not influence prescribing decisions,” Sanofi said in a statement.
“State intervention has no impact on the merits of this case, and Sanofi is vigorously defending this lawsuit,” the company added.
Attorney General Paxton is seeking damages in excess of $1 million, including civil penalties, as well as an injunction to stop any further wrongdoing, the statement said.
Previously, the Attorney General had already sued Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb for failing to disclose that their drug to prevent blood clots, Plavix, did not work effectively in some patients.
Last year, Texas also sued Eli Lilly for allegedly “bribing” suppliers to prescribe its most profitable drugs, including the GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.
(Reporting by Sneha SK in Bengaluru and Fabiola Arámburo in Mexico City; editing by Alan Barona)
