Pennsylvania has joined with other U. S. states in the $500 million settlement that pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy recently hit to resolve civil & criminal allegations over supplying adulterated drugs, Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced on Thursday.

Ranbaxy was slapped with charges that it knowingly manufactured and sold generic drugs which had lower purity, strength and quality than required by the FDA.

The India-based pharmaceutical giant on Monday pleaded guilty to felony charges concerning drug safety; and agreed to pay $500 million in fines to settle the charges.

The states and the federal government of the U. S. will receive $350 million in civil damages and fines to resolve the allegations of poor manufacturing practices. Of this amount, $266 million will go to Medicaid programs.

As a result of the settlement, Pennsylvania's Medicaid program will get $4.5 million. Medicaid programs are funded mutually by both states and the federal government.

The settlement negotiations with Ranbaxy were conducted by a team of experts from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU), on behalf of the states.

Ranbaxy has managed to settle the charges, but industry experts are of the view that it would tale the Pharmaceutical giant many years to rebuild its reputation as a supplier of good quality generic medicines.