North Dakota is getting about $108,000 as part of a larger $95.5 million settlement with Aventis Pharmaceutical Inc. over the cost of nasal sprays.

The Justice Department recently said the subsidiary of drug maker Sanofi-Aventis agreed to pay the government the money to settle allegations it cheated Medicaid.

The government charged that between 1995 and 2000, Aventis and its corporate predecessors did not offer Medicaid the best prices for the sprays Azmacort, Nasacort and Nasacort AQ.

In reaching the settlement, Sanofi-Aventis U.S. did not admit any wrongdoing.

The North Dakota Department of Human Services says that the state has agreed to accept a $240,000 settlement, about $132,000 of which will go to the federal government.

Associated Press