Feb 19 (Reuters) - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday sued Sanofi SASY.PA for allegedly "bribing" providers to prescribe its medications over alternatives.

The attorney general's office issued a statement saying that the company created programs to offer services to healthcare providers, which it alleges amounted to bribes in violation of the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.

Sanofi did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Attorney General Paxton is seeking monetary relief of over a million dollars, including civil penalties, as well as an injunction to stop any further unlawful acts, the statement said.

The Attorney General has previously sued Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY.N for failing to disclose that their drug to prevent blood clots Plavix did not work effectively for certain patients.

Last year, Texas also sued Eli Lilly LLY.N for allegedly "bribing" providers to prescribe its most profitable drugs, including the GLP-1 medications Mounjaro and Zepbound.

(Reporting by Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

((Sneha.SK@thomsonreuters.com))