GSK Pays $460 Million to Settle Bulk of Avandia Cases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay up to $460 million to settle the majority of lawsuits alleging that its diabetes drug, Avandia, can cause heart attacks and strokes, Bloomsberg News has reported.

The reported settlement was reached on the first day of a two-day hearing into the safety of the treatment, which was being conducted by the Food and Drug Administration's scientific panel. During the proceedings in Washington D.C., GSK was accused by the Senate Finance Committee of hiding negative trial data dating back as long as a decade ago.

The reported settlement amounts to about $46,000 per …