File this one under ‘Been Down So Long, Looks Like Up To Me.’

The drugmaker is gradually coming out from under that government cloud. First, there’s an agreement today with the Justice Department’s anti-trust division, which was conducting a criminal investigation into the botched settlement with Apotex and Sanofi-Aventis over the Plavix bloodthinner, a debacle that resulted in Peter Dolan losing his job as ceo.

As part of the agreement, Bristol-Myers or some unnamed subsidiary will plead guilty to criminal charges consisting of two counts of making false statements to a government agency, which carries a total fine of $1 million (small change for a big company). In this case, a Bristol-Myers exec failed to disclose everything to the Federal Trade Commission.

Meanwhile, the US Attorney in New Jersey tells the drugmaker today that the Deferred Prosecution Agreement has been satisfied and will be lifted on June 15. The DPA - and a monitor - were put in place after an accounting scandal. Two execs were dismissed - Frederick Schiff and Rick Lane - and both stand trial later this year.

“Full compliance with all of the laws and regulations governing our company remains the highest priority for our leadership team, and for me personally,” says Jim Cornelius, the drugmaker’s ceo. “As we move forward with our plans to grow our business and build shareholder value, compliance is an essential pillar that will support all of our goals.”

That sounds good. But this is a compliance-challenged industry these days.

Here’s one unresolved point: the drugmaker says it doesn’t believe this resolution of the investigation “should have a material impact on its ability to participate in federal procurement or health care programs, although there can be no assurance of this.”

Meanwhile, the FTC and the New York State Attorney General continue with their own investigations into the proposed Plavix patent settlement.

Bristol-Myers press release.
[tags]Apotex, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Plavix, Sanofi-Aventis[/tags]