Pharma 101 - Pharmaceutical Fraud

Archive for May, 2006

Big Fines Levied For Violations of False Claims Act

In an article that appeared in The Baltimore Sun (Jonathan D. Rockoff, Improper sales of medicines targeted; Drug firms have paid fines of $3.5 billion since 2001 for wrongful promotions, The Baltimore Sun, May 7, 2006 at 1A), it is reported that since 2001, pharmaceutical companies prosecuted under the False Claims Act have paid nearly $3.5 billion in penalties. These penalties have resulted from the improper promotion by pharmaceutical companies, which include improper promotions and kickbacks. “…One reason the law has been effective is its reward to tipsters who can receive 15 percent to 30 percent of the penalties against a company …” To read more, see The Baltimore Sun.

Something to Hide? Big Pharma Attorneys Say “No” to False Claims Act

The pharmaceutical industry is attempting to curtail the success of the federal False Claims Act by discouraging its application and expansion to additional states. While big pharma lawyers argue that these cases are nothing more than a “lottery ticket,” Jill Kozeny, Senator Grassley’s spokeswoman, attributes the recovery of “billions of dollars that would have been otherwise lost to fraud” to federal False Claims Act as further discussed in a recent article that appeared in The Washington Drug Letter. (Stephen Langel, Industry Attorneys Warn States Not to Enact False Claims Acts, Washington Drug Letter (May 8, 2006)).