Texas hits Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb with lawsuit over blood thinner drug efficacy

Paxton alleges the companies marketed Plavix as a reliable defense against heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots while failing to disclose evidence that the drug could be ineffective or virtually useless for many people

Texas Attorney General has sued pharma giants Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb with a lawsuit, claiming that their blockbuster blood-thinner Plavix was sold knowing it fails many patients. 

According to A-G Ken Paxton, the two pharma companies have concealed that their blood-thinner Plavix may not work for large groups of patients — particularly Black, East Asian, and Pacific Islander patients. 

In the lawsuit, filed this week, Paxton alleges the companies marketed Plavix as a reliable defense against heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots while failing to disclose evidence that the drug could be ineffective or virtually useless for many people. 

Plavix, also sold generically as clopidogrel bisulfate, works by preventing platelets from clumping, but Paxton claims the manufacturers knew its benefits varied significantly across patient groups. 

According to the complaint, the companies’ “deceit” led doctors to prescribe a drug that was “substantially inadequate or inappropriate,” violating the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. Paxton asserts the companies made billions of dollars while withholding critical information about the drug’s performance. 

The lawsuit argues the alleged nondisclosure constitutes clear violations of state fraud and consumer protection laws. 

“It’s despicable how Big Pharma puts lives at risk by refusing to be honest with patients,” Paxton said in a statement. “We are going to make Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb pay a heavy cost for their utter lack of regard or concern for Americans… Anyone who endangers the health of Americans absolutely will be held accountable.” 

Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb have not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit.