Amgen Inc. has agreed to pay $24.9 million to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The allegations in this case relate to Amgen’s business practices concerning the sale of Aranesp, a pharmaceutical product.
Based on information provided by the whistleblower, the government contended that Amgen paid kickbacks to long-term care pharmacy providers Omnicare Inc., PharMerica Corporation and Kindred Healthcare Inc. in return for implementing “therapeutic interchange” programs that were designed to switch Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries from a competitor drug to Aranesp. The government alleged that the kickbacks took the form of performance-based rebates that were tied to market-share or volume thresholds. The government further alleged that, as part of the therapeutic interchange program, Amgen distributed materials to consultant pharmacists and nursing home staff encouraging the use of Aranesp for patients who did not have anemia associated with chronic renal failure.
For more information on this case, click here: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/April/13-civ-438.html