GSK health fraud settlement

1. GSK Health Fraud Settlement

2. Contents
• About GSK
• The Case
• Virtue Ethics
• Utilitarianism
• Duty Ethics
• Right Ethics
• Conclusion
• Reference

3. About GSK
• GlaxoSmithKline:
British healthcare company
• Headquarter: Brentford, London
• Founder:
‘Glaxo Wellcome’ & ‘SmithKline Beecham’
• Foundation: 17 January 2000
• Manufacture: drugs and vaccines
• Offices: 115 countries

4. About GSK
• Employee: over 99,000
• Single largest market: U.S.A
• Market capitalization: £79 billion
• Top ranker: 2010, 2012 and 2014

5. The Case
• Promoting unapproved drugs in U.S.A
• On July 2, 2012, agreed to pay $3 billion
• Half a dozen drugs specially following three
• Paxil: antidepressant for adults;
prescribed for teenagers;
side effects- suicidal thoughts in teenagers
• Wellbutrin: approved for depressive disorder;
prescribed for weight loss

6. The Case
• Avandia: diabetic drug ;
caused 83,000 heart attacks
• Bribed doctors with foreign trips and spa
• Celebrity doctor accepted $275,000
• Publishing medical journal with misreported
data
• MOST SHOCKING FACT:
No one was arrested

7. Virtue Ethics
• Lack of Honesty:
promoted unapproved drugs
• Lack of Truthfulness:
hid possible side effects
• Lack of Responsibility:
no responsibility to affected people
• Lack of Professionalism:
bribed doctors

8. Utilitarianism
Benefit:
• GSK earned $26 billion
• Doctors who took bribe
Loss:
• Health and financial loss of customers
• Loss of shareholders
• Reputation of GSK and judicial system of
U.S.A

9. Duty Ethics
 Duty of GSK:
• To consumers
• To protect company’s image
• To shareholders
 Duty of Government:
• To defend people from such fraudulent
• To search who are liable and punish them
 Duty of Doctors:
• To prescribe permitted medicine
• To be honest with patients

10. Right Ethics
 Right of consumers:
• To buy approved medicine
• To know the possible side effects
 Right of public:
• To be defended by Government
 Right of patients:
• To get honest treatment from doctors
 Right of shareholders

11. Conclusion
• Undoubtedly unethical
• Largest fraud settlement in U.S. history
• The chief executive stated it as a ‘mistake’
• Fines do not work
• Necessary criminal charges on individuals responsible
• Only way to change behavior: risk of jail time

12. Reference
• http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/16
/glaxosmithkline-plead-guilty.aspx
• http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/business/glaxosmithkli
ne-agrees-to-pay-3-billion-in-fraud-
settlement.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/how-not-to-get-
big-pharma_b_1653588.html
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/dr-drew-
glaxosmithkline-promote
drugs_n_1647045.html?1341340758&icid=maing-
grid7|main5|dl6|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D175513
• http://www.npr.org/2012/07/02/156144458/glaxo-agrees-to-
pay-3-billion-in-fraud-settlement