British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on November 3, 2011, that it had reached an agreement in principle with the United States government to resolve multiple federal investigations regarding the company’s alleged promotion of drugs for unapproved uses and other matters. As part of the settlement, GSK agreed to pay civil and criminal fines totaling $3 billion dollars. The $3 billion settlement is the largest in health care fraud history, surpassing the $2.3 billion paid by Pfizer in 2009 to settle allegations of off-label promotion of a number of its drugs.

Although GSK expects that the settlement will not be finalized until next year, it will address civil and criminal liabilities related to a number of major investigations, including...