The company will now settle the lawsuits claiming the drug causes heart attacks and strokes for an average of at least $46,000 each, Bloomberg.com reported.
Reportedly, Avandia sales fell 43% to $710m last year in the wake of the sales restrictions imposed on it by US regulators.
Glaxo will now take a $3.5bn charge to cover expenses linked to investigations and suits over Avandia, which will bring the amount the drugmaker has set aside in the past year for legal costs tied to Avandia to $6.4bn.
Glaxo has already updated Avandia’s warning label to include safety restrictions ordered by federal regulators.