Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay $150 million (€124.52 million) to settle civil fraud charges, one of the largest settlement payouts ever by a US corporation, authorities said yesterday.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Bristol with improperly booking $1.5 billion in revenue in 2000 and 2001 by coaxing wholesalers to buy more of its drugs than they could sell.
The agency said its continuing investigation will focus on "those individuals responsible for the company's failure".
"Bristol-Myers' earnings-management scheme distorted the true performance of the company and its medicines business on a massive scale and caused significant harm to the company's shareholders," said SEC enforcement director Mr Stephen Cutler.
This comes only days after Bristol agreed to pay $300 million to settle a shareholder class-action lawsuit over the accounting allegations and problems with developing a cancer drug with biotech firm ImClone Systems .
New York-based Bristol, without admitting or denying the charges, agreed to bring aboard an independent adviser to review and monitor its accounting practices, financial reporting and internal control. - (Reuters)
