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Whistleblower News From The Inside -- December 9, 2016

Posted  December 9, 2016

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team

Bristol-Myers Squibb to pay $19.5 million to settle false marketing allegations — California, along with 42 other states and the District of Columbia, reached a $19.5 million agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb over allegations that the company illegally marketed its atypical antipsychotic drug Abilify.  The investigation found that Bristol-Myers Squibb engaged in off-label marketing by illegally promoting Abilify for therapeutic uses for which it was not approved and that the company misled doctors and patients about the drug’s risks and side effects. California AG

House unanimously passes legislation protecting FBI whistleblowers — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Federal Bureau of Investigation Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2016 (404-0).  The bill clarifies Congress’s intent to protect FBI whistleblowers who make disclosures to managers and supervisors in their chain of command, bringing the agency in line with most others in the federal government. Oversight

Third Circuit rejects sealing of settlement in Quest Qui Tam case — The Third Circuit ruled that an agreement detailing the division of proceeds between two claimants who brought qui tam suits against Quest Diagnostics should not have been placed under seal.  The appeals court said that the District Court in Fair Laboratory Practices Associates v. Riedel failed to identify any particularized harm that would result if the settlement agreement were open for public view, and it discounted the public interest in learning the settlement terms.  National Law Journal

Former Insys officials charged in scheme to push its painkiller — According to prosecutors, Insys began to aggressively market its fentanyl drug Subsys soon after it arrived on the market in 2012, and they were frustrated because it was not performing well against several similar products on the market.  So over the next few years, they set out to woo pain doctors who had a track record for prescribing large quantities of fentanyl, enticing them with speakers’ fees, lavish dinners and in some cases going so far as to hire their relatives.  NYT

U.S. submits final rule to fight seafood fraud — A final rule to help curtail seafood fraud and illegal fishing has been submitted by the Obama administration.  Under the rule, seafood that comes from outside the country and that is at risk of fraud or illegal fishing will be tracked from the point of origin—either a boat or a fish farm—to the U.S. border.  WSJ