The state will receive about $700 million as part of a settlement with two pharmaceutical giants in a long-running lawsuit over a blood thinner.
Last summer, a judge awarded the state nearly $1 billion, saying that the drug Plavix was not effective for many Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, because they lack an enzyme to activate the drug.
But the pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb appealed the decision.
Rather than continuing to fight the lawsuit, the parties decided to settle.
Gov. Josh Green said the settlement comes as the state faces potentially significant federal funding cuts.
"The [House] speaker, the Senate president, the Finance chair and the Ways and Means chair received a call from me so that they knew that these dollars were coming, so that they could begin the process as we already had planned, to potentially have a special session later in the year in case we have a crater in our Medicaid budget, or we have needs with EBT food stamps, or if we need to pay for school lunches for our children. All of these things I feel are very connected to our health, and this settlement will help us cover.”
The funds are expected to come to the state in June. The full settlement agreement can be viewed here.
In a joint statement, the drug companies said they “are pleased to resolve this litigation, and to continue their companies’ focus on discovering, developing, and delivering innovative medicines to patients.”
“Plavix has helped millions of people with cardiovascular disease around the world for nearly 30 years and it continues to be endorsed as a first-line therapy by leading treatment guidelines across the globe,” the statement added.
