SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pharmaceutical giant AbbVie illegally plied doctors with cash, gifts and services to prescribe one of the world's best-selling drugs, Humira, despite its potentially deadly complications, a California official said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit by the state's insurance commissioner accuses the company of a far-reaching kickback scheme that led doctors to write more prescriptions for the drug, tainting their relationship with patients and driving up insurance costs. It's likely patients were prescribed Humira because of the kickbacks provided by AbbVie and not bec...