Question of the Week — Is DOJ’s Blockbuster $1.4 Billion Opioid Settlement Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

On July 11, DOJ announced a record-breaking $1.4 billion settlement with Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB Group) over allegations that its former subsidiary Indivior Inc. inflated prescriptions of its opioid-withdrawal drug Suboxone through numerous unestablished representations about the drug’s safety and addictiveness. The settlement resolves RB Group’s potential civil and criminal liability, but Indivior still faces a criminal trial scheduled to begin on May 11, 2020. It is the largest...

Question of the Week — Should institutions return past donations from Big Pharma executives and their family members implicated in the opioid crisis?

The New York Times recently reported that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has decided to stop accepting gifts from members of the Sackler family linked to Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, one of the drugs at the center of the opioid epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans in the past two decades. The Met’s decision follows that of other museums and universities, including the Tate Modern, the...

Question of the Week — Should Big Pharma Be Publicly Shamed for Its Role in the Opioid Crisis?

Domenic Esposito, a sculptor from Massachusetts, has placed a 10-foot long sculpture of a burnt heroin spoon-the kind used by heroin addicts to melt heroin before injecting it-in front of the Rhode Island headquarters of Rhodes Pharmaceuticals. Today, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals is among the largest producers of generic opioids in the U.S. It is also a sister company of Purdue Pharma, which, along with other opioid makers, is being sued by...

Catch of the Week – Justice Department Sues Tennessee Pharmacies and Pharmacists Illegally Dispensing Opioids

On Friday, the Justice Department announced that it has sued several pharmacies and pharmacists in Tennessee to stop them from illegally dispensing opioids. According to the complaint, both defendants have “fueled and profited from” the opioid epidemic by “repeatedly dispensing opioids and other controlled substances prone to abuse without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional medical practice.” The complaint alleges violations of the Controlled Substances...

As Trump Announces New Plan on Opioids, DOJ is Already Hard at Work

RAC Monitor publishes article by partner Mary Inman and associate Max Voldman March 27, 2018).  Click here to read the article.

Former DEA Agent Alleges Opioid Crisis Fueled by Drug Companies

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team As reported in CBS News, the Washington Post and other news outlets A former employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said in an interview that efforts to stem the growing opioid epidemic in the U.S. were derailed by pressure from large pharmaceutical companies and Congress. Joe Rannazzisi told CBS that major distributors allowed drugs to be obtained by rogue pharmacies and pain clinics,...

Health Insurers May Be Contributing to the Opioid Crisis in the United States

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team An article in the New York Times describes the role health insurers may be playing in perpetuating the opioid crisis in the United States. The argument is that health insurers are limiting access to pain medications that have a lower risk of dependency. The reason is that opioid drugs are generally cheaper and less risky alternatives are more expensive. The New York State Attorney...

The Government’s Struggle to Hold Opioid Manufacturers Accountable

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team In 2011 the DEA was focused on fighting the growing opioid epidemic and targeted Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest manufacturers of oxycodone. The government alleged that Mallinckrodt had failed to properly report suspicious orders of painkillers that eventually made their way to the black market in Florida. The government contended that Mallinckrodt’s actions could lead to 44,000 federal violations and billions of dollars...

Busted: DOJ Announces $14.6B Health Care Fraud in Historic Takedown

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team On June 30, the DOJ announced what prosecutors are calling the "2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown" and it’s one for the books. The government dismantled a healthcare fraud scheme that involved over 300 defendants and totaled an eye-popping $14.6 billion in alleged false claims. 1 Surpassing Previous Records This figure towers over prior record-setting fraud scheme enforcements that totaled nearly $6 billion in False Claims...

Assertio to Pay $3.6M in False Claims Act Settlement over Fentanyl Marketing Practices

By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team  On May 9, the government announced that Assertio Therapeutics Inc., (formerly Depomed Inc.) (“Assertio”), agreed to pay $3.6 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations stemming from its marketing of Lazanda, its transmucosal immediate-release fentanyl (TIRF) drug. This case was initiated by whistleblowers.1 Lazanda is a nasal spray solely approved by the FDA for patients with breakthrough cancer pain who are receiving and are tolerant...