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Pharmaceutical Case Presents Novel Use of False Claims Act

Posted  05/1/13
(As reported in Thomson Reuters) When you think of a whistleblower, you might think of an employee reporting on the misconduct of some giant corporate employer -- a David versus Goliath scenario.  On Friday, Reuters reminded us that this is not always the case, reporting on a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by a very different kind of whistleblower -- a corporate competitor.  In this case, Amphastar...

High Court to Hear Argument on Whether Injured Patients Can Hold Generic Drug Makers Accountable for Their Defective Drugs

Posted  03/13/13
By Jason Enzler Next Tuesday the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument on Mutual Pharmaceutical’s appeal of a $21 million jury award for serious injuries caused by one of its generic drugs.  Much more is at stake than the money, however, with many expecting the Justices to set out a broad rule on whether any patient can sue a generic drug maker for defects in the design of its drug. The underlying...

Stiff Amgen Fine Shows No Slowing Down in Government Prosecution of Off-Label Marketing

Posted  12/20/12
By Gordon Schnell It was only two weeks ago that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals came down with its groundbreaking decision in U.S. v. Caronia.  In a 2-to-1 ruling by a three-judge panel, the appeals court overturned the conviction of a drug company sales representative for promoting a prescription drug for uses not approved by the FDA.  The majority reasoned that banning such off-label marketing violated the...

Another Bad Report Card for the Beleaguered FDA

Posted  11/29/12
By Gordon Schnell The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admittedly has a lot on its plate.  Tasked with regulating the country’s food and medicine supply, not to mention the ever-evolving array of medical devices and procedures, the FDA is the federal agency perhaps most responsible for ensuring our health and well-being.  If the agency does not perform up to task, a lot of people are affected.  So it is no...

CVS Sub Caught Duping Consumers in Prescription Drug Purchases

Posted  10/22/12
By Marlene Koury In one of the first False Claims Act settlements involving Medicare's "Part D" prescription drug program, CVS Caremark subsidiary, RxAmerica, agreed to pony up $5.25 million to resolve charges that it submitted false pricing information to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  This is the government body that oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  It also makes available the...

The Fraud Behind the Fraud of Off-Label Drug Marketing

Posted  10/5/12
By Gordon Schnell It has been one of the most common means for drug companies to get around what can be the very rigorous and time-consuming process of securing FDA approval for selling drugs.  That is, taking drugs that the FDA has approved as safe and effective for one particular use and marketing them to the medical community and the public for an entirely different set of uses.  This so-called off-label...

FDAGate -- The Latest Lapse in Government Enforcement

Posted  07/20/12
By Gordon Schnell In what quickly has become the most recent "gate" scandal in Washington, the evidence continues to mount that the FDA acted to stifle whistleblowers within its own ranks.  It all began several years ago when a half-dozen FDA scientists and doctors objected to certain imaging devices for mammograms and colonoscopies because of the high levels of radiation they believed the equipment emitted.  The...
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