News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Beshear’s Office Secures $152K in Multistate Pharmaceutical Company Settlement

Andy Beshear, Official Photo

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear said Wednesday his office has secured $152,000 from a multistate settlement involving a pharmaceutical company. 

Beshear’s office said the settlement resolves allegations involving Connecticut-based company Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. His office said the company engaged in off-label marketing and deceptive and misleading promotion of prescription drugs used to prevent stroke, COPD and hypertension. 

Per a release from Beshear's Office, the company:

  • Misrepresented that its antiplatelet drug, Aggrenox®, was effective for many conditions “below the neck,” such as heart attacks and congestive heart failure, and that it was superior to Plavix® without evidence to substantiate that claim;
  • Misrepresented that Micardis® protected patients from early morning strokes and heart attacks and treated metabolic syndrome;
  • Misrepresented that Combivent® could be used as a first-line treatment for bronchospasms associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and
  • Falsely stated that Atrovent® and Combivent® could be used at doses that exceeded the maximum dosage recommendation in the product labeling and that the drugs were essential for treatment of COPD.   

Bshear’s office returned nearly $6 million to the general fund this year through litigation and settlements.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
Related Content