February 28, 2020

Sanofi-Aventis U.S., LLC has agreed to pay $11.85 million to resolve allegations of paying kickbacks to Medicare patients in connection with a multiple sclerosis drug called Lemtrada.  According to the press release, Lemtrada costs nearly $100,000 per patient per year, and Medicare co-pays can be many thousands of dollars per year.  In order to break down barriers to access for Medicare patients, Sanofi allegedly provided kickbacks to them via payments to a purportedly independent charitable foundation, The Assistance Fund (TAF), which helps covers the co-pays in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.  The scheme was reported by a partnership formed by Sanofi’s predecessor, Genzyme Corporation, which will receive about $2.7 million for their role in the case.  USAO MA

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, FCA Federal, Healthcare Fraud, Medicare, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,