Hawaii Awarded $916 Million in Plavix Failure-To-Warn Case

HONOLULU – A Hawaii judge has awarded the state $916 million against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and three U.S.-based subsidiaries of Sanofi-Aventis for failing to disclose that the blood thinner is ineffective in reducing the risk of strokes, blood clots and heart attacks in patients of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.

In a May 21 opinion, Judge James Ashford of the First Circuit Court of Hawaii found that from the launch of Plavix in 1998, the drug makers knew there was a risk that about 30 percent of patients might have a diminished response to Plavix, but failed to update the …