Bristol-Myers Squibb Co agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into its negotiations in to delay the launch of a generic version of its blockbuster drug Plavix, the Wall Street Journal said.

The FTC was investigating whether the drugmaker made false statements to it regarding the deal it struck with Canada's Apotex Inc to keep a copycat version of Plavix off the market, the paper said.

Plavix, also known as clopidogrel and made by Sanofi-Aventis SA and Bristol-Myers, is a top-selling blood-thinning drug.

Reuters efforts to contact Bristol-Myers out of regular office hours were unsuccessful. In December, Bristol-Myers said it agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle charges connected with an anti-trust investigation by the New York State Attorney General's Office.

(Reporting by S. John Tilak in Bangalore; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

Canada FTC