A Biogen facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Biogen can pay $900 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the corporate gave docs kickbacks to encourage them prescribe its medicine, the Justice Department introduced on Monday.
A former Biogen worker turned whistleblower, Michael Bawduniak, sued the pharmaceutical firm in 2012 on behalf of the federal authorities below the False Claims Act.
Bawduniak alleged Biogen paid kickbacks to docs within the type of talking charges, consulting charges and meals from 2009 via 2014 to encourage them to prescribe its a number of sclerosis medicine.
The alleged kickbacks resulted in false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for the prescription of Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera, in line with the Justice Department.
Biogen can pay greater than $843 million to the federal authorities and $56 million to fifteen states to settle the case. Bawduniak will obtain about $250 million of the federal proceeds, in line with the Justice Department.
“The settlement announced today underscores the critical role that whistleblowers play in complementing the United States’ use of the False Claims Act to combat fraud affecting federal health care programs,” mentioned Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Biogen, in a press release Monday, denied any wrongdoing within the case. The firm mentioned it needed to resolve the litigation to deal with different priorities.
“Biogen believes its intent and conduct was at all times lawful and appropriate and Biogen denies all allegations raised in this case,” the corporate mentioned. “The U.S. and the states did not intervene in the case and the settlement does not include any admission of liability by Biogen.”
Biogen disclosed in its second quarter report that it had reached an settlement in precept to pay $900 million to resolve the lawsuit.
Source: www.cnbc.com