Drugmakers to pay $25M on fraud claims

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell says five pharmaceutical companies have agreed to pay the state a total of $25.2 million to resolve allegations they misreported drug pricing information to inflate reimbursement payments by the state's Medicaid program.

Actavis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Dey, GlaxoSmithKline and Schering-Plough are the companies involved in Tuesday's settlement announcement.

Caldwell's office has sued more than 100 drug manufacturers and their subsidiaries over alleged fraudulent pricing and marketing of prescription drugs.

The attorney general says his office has recovered a total of $138 million over the past four years through settlements.

A trial for some of the companies that haven't settled with Caldwell's office is scheduled for later this year in state court.