Hundreds of Millions Lost in Pharma/Medical Device Settlements

“Three generic pharmaceutical manufacturers, Taro Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Sandoz Inc., and Apotex Corporation, have agreed to pay a total of $447.2 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act arising from conspiracies to fix the price of various generic drugs. These conspiracies allegedly resulted in higher drug prices for federal health care programs and beneficiaries according to the Justice Department.

The government alleges that between 2013 and 2015, all three companies paid and received compensation prohibited by the Anti-Kickback Statute through arrangements on price, supply and allocation of customers with other pharmaceutical manufacturers for certain generic drugs manufactured by the companies.” –Justice.Gov

We all know that pharmaceutical and medical device industries are BIG business. Billions of dollars are spent each year on payments and transfers of value to physicians, non-physician practitioners, and hospitals. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies must turn a profit, and sometimes the efforts to influence decision-makers can cross the line, resulting in significant settlements.

• • A 52 million dollar settlement for questionable charitable donations to allegedly boost drug sales.
  • A 642 million dollar settlement with a pharmaceutical company to resolve allegations of improper payment to patients and doctors.
  • A 16 million dollar settlement to resolve claims that a medical device company improperly paid royalty payments to an orthopedic surgeon to influence the use and recommendation of medical devices.

We’ll continue seeing these headlines because the US government isn’t going to loosen up on regulations anytime soon.

“These civil settlements are another achievement in my office’s efforts to hold generic drug companies accountable for the consequences arising from price-fixing schemes, including the harm to federal healthcare programs,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “We will continue to aggressively pursue these violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act and obtain significant recoveries.” –Justice.Gov

Tune in to our upcoming webinar, “Pharmaceutical and Medical Device COI and Unique Compliance Risks,” with compliance expert CJ Wolf, to learn:

• • Unique Compliance Risks for Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Companies
  • How Payments to Medical Practitioners and Hospitals Can Cause Conflicts of Interest
  • Strategies Compliance Programs Can Use to Avoid These Mistakes