April 25, 2019

Pharma company Amgen Inc. has agreed to pay $24.75 million and enter into a corporate integrity agreement to resolve allegations that its use of purportedly independent foundations to pay copayments on its drugs Sensipar and Kyprolis for Medicare beneficiaries violated the False Claims Act.  Amgen’s “donations” were not bona fide, but were, by design, intended to benefit only patients of its own drugs, thereby constituting an unlawful kickback designed to generate revenue for Amgen.  With respect to Kyprolis, Amgen’s donation to the fund was expressly tied to the anticipated amount required to fund Kyprolis copayments.    DOJ; USAO Mass

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Drug and DME Pricing, FCA Federal, Pharma Fraud,