Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13979

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Goldstein J.
More Fallout for Bristol-Myers on Drug Pricing Investigation
The Wall Street Journal Health Blog 2008 Jul 15
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/07/15/more-fallout-for-bristol-myers-on-drug-pricing-investigation/

Full text:

A bunch of state attorneys general are crowing today about how much Bristol-Myers Squibb is paying to settle allegations that the company bilked money out of Medicaid through price inflation, kickbacks and the like.

A few states that have crossed our radar screen: New York says it’s getting $40 million; Massachusetts will receive $9 million; Missouri, $11 million; and Connecticut, $2 million.

The company cut a deal with the feds last fall; at that time, the DOJ put the total value of the settlement at over $500 million.

The allegations included the company’s former generics subsidiary Apothecon, which was accused of paying “improper inducements to pharmacies and wholesalers,” according to the Mass. AG. Bristol was also investigated for illegally marketing its antipsychotic drug Abilify for use in children and to treat dementia in the elderly, uses for which it had not been approved at the time (it was approved last year for use in teens).

“Bristol-Myers Squibb is pleased to have resolved these matters from the past and is proud of its commitment to conduct business with the highest standards of integrity in its mission to extend and enhance human life,” the company said a statement quoted by the Boston Globe.