Â鶹ŮÓÅ

GlaxoSmithKline PLC has agreed to pay Bristol-Myers Squibb up to $1.5 billion to acquire the U.S. company’s pipeline of HIV drugs, a move which will bolster one of the U.K. drug makers’ strongest-performing areas. (Roland, 12/18)

Pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline said its majority-owned HIV business would buy drugs at different stages of development from U.S. rival Bristol-Myers Squibb for an initial $350 million. GSK said the acquisitions would provide ViiV Healthcare, its HIV unit in which Pfizer and Shionogi are junior partners, with new opportunities for growth. The British company is reviving its position in HIV treatment as part of its strategy to return to earnings growth in 2016. (12/18)

A generic drug maker owned by Endo International Plc has reached a $39 million settlement with the U.S. government and 47 states stemming from the unlawful labeling of multivitamins that contained fluoride. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the settlement on Wednesday. The case stemmed from a 2013 whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act in which the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general later intervened. (Baryln and Raymond, 12/16)

The prices of many Medicaid-covered generic drugs have increased faster than inflation in recent years, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report, issued Thursday by HHS's Office of Inspector General, said that if generic drugs had been treated the same way as brand-name drugs under Medicaid, states and the federal government could have gotten at least $1.4 billion in additional rebates from 2005 through 2014. (Pierson, 12/17)

Academic scientists who ignore legal requirements to publicly report clinical trial results often have received large payments from drug companies involved in the studies, a STAT review of federal data found. (Piller, 12/17)