GOVERNOR GREEN, ATTORNEY GENERAL LOPEZ ANNOUNCE $700 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN PLAVIX LAWSUIT

News Release 2025-62 from Office of the Attorney General, May 9, 2025

HONOLULU – Governor Josh Green, M.D. and Hawaiʻi Attorney General Anne Lopez today announced that the state of Hawai‘i has entered into a $700 million settlement agreement with pharmaceutical giants Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Company and three U.S.-based subsidiaries of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. The case is State of Hawaiʻi ex. rel. Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General v. Briston-Myers Squibb Company et al., (Civil No. 1CC141000708).

The settlement agreement divides the total amount of $700 million equally between BMS and Sanofi. The monies will be paid by wire transfer by June 9, 2025.

“This landmark settlement is a major victory for the state of Hawaiʻi. Once the money goes into our general fund, we can go to work on immediately identifying ways to enhance health care services for Hawaiʻi’s residents, said Governor Green. “I am very proud of the work by our Attorney General and outside counsel that helped in  achieving this result for the people of Hawaiʻi”.

“This settlement agreement brings closure to nearly 12 years of litigation,” said Attorney General Lopez.

Lopez went on to assert, “It doesn’t matter if a company is a one-person shop or a multi-billion-dollar oil company, we will relentlessly enforce Hawaiʻi’s consumer protection laws.”

Special Attorney General Rick Fried, with the Honolulu-based law firm Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina and Fairbanks provides: “I started working on this case when I presented it to then-AG David Louie in 2012. It took 13 years to finalize, but I’m very pleased about what this settlement will do for the people of Hawaiʻi. I want to extend my thanks to our Governor, Josh Green and Attorney General Anne Lopez for their support.”

The full settlement agreements can be found through the following links:

• Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Sanofi

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COVERAGE:

• SA: Drugmakers to pay Hawaii $700M to settle lawsuit over blood thinner | Honolulu Star-Advertiser  -- "The settlement ends over a decade of litigation over the companies’ failure to warn that Plavix was less effective or ineffective in Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian populations. The drug, which relies on liver enzyme activation, was prescribed more than 837,000 times in Hawaii between 1998 and 2010....On May 21, 2024, a Hawaii Circuit Court judge awarded the state $916 million in a decade-old case alleging unfair and deceptive practices against the makers of the drug Plavix, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi.  Rather than continue through appeals, the parties agreed to the $700 million settlement announced today to ensure a faster payout....
• CB: Hawaiʻi Will Receive $700 Million From Drug Companies Under Settlement - Honolulu Civil Beat
• CN: Hawaii wins $700 million settlement from drugmakers over blood thinners | Courthouse News Service