Ill. to receive $12M in pharmaceutical settlement

Illinois is expected to receive more than $12 million in a settlement with a pharmaceutical company accused of selling diluted drugs.

The state's Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the settlement Monday.

The state will receive the money as part of a $500 million federal and state settlement against India-based Ranbaxy.

The federal lawsuit filed against Ranbaxy stated the company knowingly manufactured, distributed and sold 26 generic drugs whose strength, purity or quality fell below standards approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The attorney general's office says the company also submitted false claims to state and federal Medicaid programs.

Madigan says the company put Illinois Medicaid patients at risk by producing and selling possibly tainted drugs.