TEXAS - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Sanofi, asserting the company ran programs that effectively bribed healthcare providers to favor its drugs over other options. The attorney general's office says those programs involved services offered to providers that, in the state's view, violated the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.
In response, Sanofi issued a statement defending the design and intent of the programs. The company said the services were structured to comply with federal and state rules and were meant to support patients rather than to sway prescribing choices. Sanofi also said the state's filing does not address the merits of the underlying drugs or patient care and that the company will "zealously defend" itself in the litigation.
The complaint seeks monetary relief of more than a million dollars, including civil penalties, according to the attorney general's office. In addition to financial remedies, the suit asks the court to impose an injunction to stop any further conduct that the state deems unlawful.
The legal action follows earlier suits involving the attorney general's office and major drugmakers. The office previously sued Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb over allegations they failed to disclose that the blood clot prevention drug Plavix was ineffective for certain patients. Last year, the state sued Eli Lilly, alleging similar misconduct tied to incentive programs for prescribing its high-revenue drugs, including the GLP-1 medications Mounjaro and Zepbound.
While the current suit centers on Sanofi's provider-facing programs, the company emphasizes compliance and patient support as the purpose of the services at issue. The state, for its part, is pursuing both damages and injunctive relief under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.
As the case proceeds, the outcome will determine whether the state's allegations of improper inducements are substantiated and whether Sanofi will face the requested financial penalties and restrictions. At this stage both the filing and Sanofi's public statement frame the dispute: the attorney general contends the programs were unlawful inducements and the company maintains they were lawful, patient-focused services.
Summary of the dispute
- Texas alleges Sanofi offered services to healthcare providers that amounted to prohibited inducements under state law.
- Sanofi says the services were lawful and intended to help patients, and it will aggressively contest the suit.
- The state seeks over $1 million in monetary relief, civil penalties, and an injunction to stop the conduct it alleges is unlawful.