GlaxoSmithKline will pay $3 billion nationally and plead guilty to criminal activity
 
Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that the state of Delaware is set to receive nearly $1 million in a proposed national settlement between approximately 25 states, the federal government, and drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The $3 billion settlement, which is the largest of its kind in U.S. history, resolves claims that GSK operated various illegal schemes in pricing and marketing its drugs. GSK has also agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges connected to improper drug labeling and reporting to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Prescription medications can literally save lives, and they improve the quality of life for millions. At the same time, though, drug manufacturers have an obligation to follow regulations put in place to keep consumers safe and healthy,” said Biden.
 
Allegations against GSK claim that the company carried out an illegal plan to market and sell certain drugs by promoting them for non-FDA-approved uses, falsely representing the drugs’ safety and efficacy, offering kickbacks to medical professionals, and underpaying rebates owed to Medicaid and other federally-funded healthcare programs for purchasing GSK-manufactured drugs.
 
Of the total settlement recovery, $2 billion in damages and civil penalties will go toward compensating federal healthcare programs, including Medicaid, for harm suffered as a result of GSK’s alleged illegal practices. Delaware-based claims have led to over $2 million in recoveries, nearly half of which will go to the state directly through the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance within Delaware Health and Social Services.
 
Specifically, the settling states and federal government accuse GSK of:

• Marketing the depression drug Paxil for off-label uses, such as use by children and adolescents. 
• Marketing the depression drug Wellbutrin for off-label uses, such as for weight loss and treatment of sexual dysfunction, and at higher-than-approved dosages.
• Marketing the asthma drug Advair for off-label uses, including first-line use for asthma.
• Marketing the seizure medication Lamictal for off-label uses, including bipolar depression, neuropathic pain, and various other psychiatric conditions.
• Marketing the nausea drug Zofran for off-label uses, including pregnancy-related nausea.
• Making false representations regarding the safety and efficacy of Paxil, Wellbutrin, Advair, Lamictal, Zofran, and the diabetes drug Avandia.

Offering kickbacks, including entertainment, cash, travel, and meals, to healthcare professionals to induce them to promote and prescribe Paxil, Wellbutrin, Advair, Lamictan, Zofran, the migraine drug Imitrex, the irritable bowel syndrome drug Lotronex, the asthma drug Flovent, and the shingles and herpes drug Valtrex.

Submitting incorrect pricing data for various drugs, thereby underpaying rebates owed to Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs.

Also part of the settlement, GSK has agreed to pay a $1 billion criminal fine and plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of violating the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by introducing Wellbutrin and Paxil into interstate commerce with labeling not in accordance those drugs’ FDA approvals. GSK will also plead guilty to failing to report certain clinical data regarding Avandia to the FDA.
 
The settlement is based on four qui tam, or whistleblower, actions initially brought by private individuals, as well as investigations conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the Civil Frauds Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. 
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Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden, joined by Wilmington Police Chief Michael Szczerba, State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings, and other police officers today announced the indictments of two Wilmington defendants for the deaths of two victims and the wounding of three others in separate shooting incidents over the past six weeks.

“I would like to thank the hard work of the Wilmington Police Department and my staff, as well as others in the community for working together to quickly identify, arrest, and indict these defendants,” Biden said. 

Yesterday Biden’s office secured murder indictments against 17 year-old Daiquan Reams, charged with the May 19 shooting that killed Tamekia Kearney and wounded two others in Kosciuszko Park.  He has been charged with:
• One count of First Degree Murder
• Two counts of Attempted Murder
• Three counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
• One count of Possession of a Deadly Weapon By a Person Prohibited

Reams has been in custody since May 29, when he was arrested for violating the terms of his probation for an earlier offense.

An indictment was also handed down yesterday against 28 year-old Lee Turner for the June 17 shooting death of 15 year-old Naj’m Hickmond in an alley off of West Fourth Street.  In that crime, Turner is also charged with seriously wounding a 12 year-old boy who is still recovering from the attack.  Turner, who was arrested by Wilmington Police last week, has been indicted on the following charges:
• One count of First Degree Murder
• One count of Attempted Murder
• Two counts of Possession of a Firearm By a Person Prohibited
• Two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony

“I join with the Attorney General’s Office and the men and women of the Wilmington Police Department in expressing sympathy to the families involved in these cases; at the same time, I pledge to these families that the WPD will continue to do everything it can to see that justice prevails,” said Chief Szczerba.

Biden and Szczerba applauded City residents who came forward with information in the days and weeks after these crimes, emphasizing that the arrests and indictments occurred as a result of community input, along with the close work between the Wilmington Police and prosecutors, who routinely respond to the scene and work directly with police throughout investigations.   They stressed that information from community members who witness a crime is critically important to help investigators understand when a crime happened and how it occurred.  Getting that information – the when, where, how, who – can make all the difference in getting the bad guys off the streets quickly.  Even small pieces of information, such as a description of a car driving away, a license plate, or a description of a pedestrian in the area, could be the key piece of information needed to identify a suspect, make an arrest, and get a conviction. 

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Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that he has appointed Ian McConnel, former head of the Delaware Department of Justice Fraud and Consumer Protection Division, to the position of State Solicitor. As the head of the Department’s Civil Division, the State Solicitor oversees several key functions of the office, including evaluating Freedom of Information Act requests, providing legal representation to hundreds of State boards and commissions, and reviewing and drafting complex transactional agreements.

“Since Ian joined the Department of Justice, he has proven to be a vital asset to my office and the Delawareans we serve,” said Biden. “He has the experience and expertise to lead the far-reaching, important efforts of the Civil Division, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in his new post.”

McConnel became head of the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division in 2011. Under his leadership, the Division led Delaware’s response to the foreclosure crisis, including sitting on the Executive Committee of the 50-state investigation of mortgage servicing violations, establishing Delaware’s mandatory foreclosure mediation program, and leading the Attorney General’s investigation of the national private electronic mortgage registry known as MERS. Prior to heading the Division, McConnel directed the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit, where he initiated and led a nationwide consumer fraud investigation into the marketing practices of a multi-national pharmaceutical company. He also established and led DOJ’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force, which helped more than 1,000 Delaware families facing foreclosure, and spearheaded successful legislative efforts to regulate debt management companies and strengthen Delaware’s consumer protection laws.

Before joining the DOJ  in 2008, McConnel practiced law at the Wilmington firm of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell. He has also worked as an investment adviser and licensed stock broker for a private mutual fund company, and served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps.  McConnel has served on the Delaware State Bar Ethics Committee and Nominating Committee for the Executive Committee.

McConnel’s tenure as State Solicitor began July 1. He follows longtime DOJ attorney Larry Lewis, who has led the Civil Division for the past six years. Lewis continues his service to the Department as representative for the Public Service Commission.

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Fines.  Attorney’s Fees.  Mandatory DUI Classes.  None of these sounds like fun, but this is exactly what you will have if you make the choice to drink and drive this holiday weekend.  OHS wants to remind you that in Delaware the consequences are real.

What you need to know

Did you know that July 4th is one of the deadliest holidays of the year due to alcohol-impaired driving
crashes?

• In 2011, between the dates of July 1-5, 1 person was killed and another 97 were injured.
• DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols over the July 4^th holiday last year resulted in 51 total dui arrests.
• Violators face jail time, the loss of licenses, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other unanticipated expenses from attorney fees, fines and court costs, car towing and repairs, lost time at work, etc.

What you can do

Have a plan before you go out.

• Designate a sober driver for the night.
• Know the DART routes in your area.
• Program the number of a cab company in your phone.
• Call a friend or family member.
• Walking impaired is never a good alternative.

Remember, just one too many is way too many.  It’s never worth the risk to drive impaired. If law enforcement pulls you over for drunk driving, you will be arrested. So remember, “DUI is a Total Buzz Kill.”

Drive Sober.  Arrive Alive DE.

This message is being sent to you from the Office of Highway Safety, who asks you to drive safely at all times.  For more information on this and other traffic safety programs, go to www.ohs.delaware.gov.

DOVER – A Delaware Standardbred racehorse has been inducted into the Harness Racing “Living Horse” Hall of Fame, the first horse from Delaware to achieve this status. Adios Harry was inducted into the “Immortals Wing” at the Hall of Fame in 2000.

Rainbow Blue, now a broodmare stabled in Pennsylvania, had a remarkable career, with a lifetime record of 32 starts, 30 wins and one third-place finish. In 2004, she was named Horse of the Year by the United States Harness Writers Association, winning 20 of 21 races with earnings of more than $1 million.

That same year, she won the Blossom Series, Roses Are Red Final, New Jersey Sire Stakes for three-year-old filly pacers, Ladyship Stakes, Tarport Hap (setting a stakes record), Mistletoe Shalee elimination, Fan Hanover Stakes, Nadia Lobell, Glen Garnsey Memorial, Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Pace and the Matron Stakes.

At her retirement in 2005, Rainbow Blue was the top single-season moneywinning pacing filly and had recorded two of the three fastest miles ever paced by a three-year-old filly.

“Rainbow Blue’s victories are a wonderful testament to the strength and success of Delaware harness racing,” said Judy Davis-Wilson, executive director of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders’ Fund. “She truly deserves this recognition and honor.”

She was foaled on March 8, 2001, at Winbak in Chesapeake City, Md. Her trainer was George Teague Jr. of Harrington, and primary driver was Hall of Famer Ron Pierce.

Rainbow Blue is owned by K & R Racing (Kevin & Ron Fry) of Houston, Del., and Teague Inc. (George and Brenda) of Harrington, Del.

Another Hall of Fame inductee with a Delaware connection is Moira Fanning, publicity director for the Hambletonian Society, which administers nearly 130 stakes including the Matron Stakes, Progress Pace and the Quillen Memorial, held at Delaware tracks.

From Valley Forge, Pa., Fanning got her start in the frontside at the former Brandywine Raceway under Marv Bachrad, current public relations director at Dover Downs. She later served as president of the United States Harness Writers’ Association, and was awarded the Harness Tracks of America’s Distinguished Service Award in 2009.

The induction ceremonies were held Sunday, July 1, in Goshen, New York, at the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame.

Contact:

Dan Shortridge
Chief of Community Relations
Delaware Department of Agriculture
(302) 698-4520