Amgen has agreed to pay $612 million ($587.2 million to the United States and $24.8 million to the states) to resolve claims that it caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and other government insurance programs.
The federal civil settlement agreement encompasses allegations that Amgen: (1) promoted Aranesp and two other drugs that it manufactured, Enbrel and Neulasta, for off-label uses and doses that were not approved by the FDA and not properly reimbursable by federal insurance programs; (2) offered illegal kickbacks to a wide range of entities in an effort to influence health care providers to select its products for use, regardless of whether they were reimbursable by federal health care programs or were medically necessary; and (3) engaged in false price reporting practices involving several of its drugs.
The civil settlement agreement resolves claims contained in ten lawsuits against Amgen that were brought under the qui tam, or whistle-blower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.
For more information on this case, click here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/December/12-civ-1523.html