02:46 PM EDT, 04/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with company statement in the fifth and sixth paragraphs.)

Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) has agreed to pay $202 million in the settlement of a civil fraud lawsuit accusing it of paying kickbacks to healthcare practitioners to promote its HIV treatment drugs, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a Tuesday statement.

The illegal kickbacks caused false claims for Gilead's HIV drugs to be paid by federal healthcare programs, in violation of the False Claims Act, according to the statement.

Under the settlement, Gilead agreed to pay a total sum of $202 million, of which around $176.9 million will be paid to the US and the remainder will be paid to various states. As part of the settlement, the company also made extensive factual admissions regarding its conduct, the statement said.

The settlement was approved Monday by US District Judge Paul Engelmayer.

In a statement to MT Newswires, Gilead said it reached the agreement "to avoid the cost and distraction of potential litigation" involving speaker programs conducted between 2011 and 2017 for its HIV drugs.

The company described the matter as a "legacy compliance" issue and said the programs were intended to educate healthcare professionals on the appropriate use and benefits of its medicines.

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