Pfizer to pay nearly $60 million over kickbacks for migraine drug once promoted by Lady Gaga
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Pharmaceutical giant pfizer will pay nearly $60 million to settle charges that the company it acquired paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe a specific drug for migraine patients, which overwhelmed Medicare and other federal health programs.
The Justice Department announced Friday that Biohaven paid improper fees, including Honoria speakers and fine dining meals, to health care professionals to induce them to prescribe the migraine drug. Nurtec ODT more frequent violation of anti-assault statutes.
The scheme took place from 1 March 2020 to 30 September 2022. Pfizer bought Biohaven in October 2022.
Logo Pfizer Inc. it was seen on the lab coat of an employee at a research and development company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Pfizer will pay nearly $60 million to settle charges that the company it acquired paid kickbacks. (Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Plaintiffs said that certain prescribers who attended multiple speaker programs on the same topic did not receive an educational benefit from attending repeated programs and that certain biohaven speaker programs were attended by individuals with no educational need to attend, such as the speakers’ spouses, family members, or family members or friends. or medical practice colleagues of the speaker.
Pfizer ended the Nurtec speaker programs after paying $11.5 billion to buy Biohaven.
“Patients deserve to know that their doctor is prescribing drugs based on their doctor’s medical judgment and not as a result of financial incentives from drug companies,” said U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross for the Western District of New York. “This settlement reflects our commitment to holding those who violate the law accountable, regardless of their status or prestige.”
A woman walks in front of the Pfizer headquarters in New York. Pfizer will pay nearly $60 million to settle charges that the company it acquired paid kickbacks. (Eduardo Munozalvarez/ViewPress)
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Pfizer did not admit wrongdoing by agreeing to settle.
“We are pleased to put this legacy behind us so that we can continue to focus on the needs of patients,” New York the drug maker said in a statement.
Nurtec ODT, also known as Rimegepant, was approved for the treatment of acute migraine in February 2020, and its approval was extended to prevent episodic migraine in June 2021. The singer was promoted by the singer lady gaga in 2023, who said in a post on social media that she had suffered from migraines since childhood and said she wished she had found the drug sooner.
The civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in August 2021 in New York Federal Court by Patricia Frattasio, a former neuroscience sales expert at Biohaven.
Lady Gaga attends the “Joker: Folie A Deux” photocall during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at Palazzo del Casino on September 4, 2024 in Venice, Italy. Gaga promoted the drug in 2023. (Stephane Cardinale – Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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He will receive about $8.4 million from the settlement. About $41.8 million will go to the federal government, and $9.5 million will go to state Medicaid programs.
The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the government and share in recoveries.
Meanwhile, the anti-kickback statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to encourage the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE and other federal Health programs. The statute is intended to ensure that the judgments of medical providers are not compromised by improper financial incentives.
Reuters contributed to this report.
