Whistleblower Lawsuit Ends in $25M Price-Fixing Settlement

A former billing manager brought the misconduct to the attention of the Justice Department by filing a False Claims Act lawsuit. Medical-testing firm Genotox Laboratories of Austin, Texas has agreed to pay $5.9 million to resolve allegations it violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act by paying volume-based commissions to independent sales representatives and specimen collectors. According to the U.S. Department of Justice,

Manufacturer of home respiratory equipment allegedly coaxed DME suppliers to recommend and buy more of its products by furnishing them with two types of kickbacks—HMS prescription data and loan guarantees Philips Respironics, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE: PHG) and a leading manufacturer of home respiratory equipment, has agreed to pay $26 million to settle two qui tam lawsuits alleging it violated the Anti-Kickback

Biogen allegedly spent millions illegally inducing doctors to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs The Boston-based pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. (NasdaqGS: BIIB) has agreed to pay $900 million to resolve a qui tam whistleblower’s claims that it paid neurologists “massive” kickbacks to coax them to prescribe its drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.  The kickbacks—which included millions of dollars in sham speaking and consulting fees—allegedly

Qui tam whistleblower alleged that Bayer fraudulently paid kickbacks, conducted off-label marketing, and hid safety risks Bayer, the U.S. division of the German drug giant Bayer AG (OTC: BAYRY), has agreed to pay a total of $40 million to settle a pair of False Claims Act whistleblower lawsuits alleging that it illegally marketed three drugs.  According to the lawsuits, Bayer illegally paid kickbacks

Biotronik allegedly paid doctors illegal kickbacks to promote the sale of its implantable cardiac devices Medical device manufacturer Biotronik has agreed to pay $12.95 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act through payment of illegal kickbacks to physicians as part of an effort to market and promote its implantable cardiac devices, including pacemakers and defibrillators. Two former sales executives of

Athenahealth allegedly violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and False Claims Act by paying kickbacks for clients referrals Healthcare technology firm Athenahealth has agreed to pay $18.25 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by paying illegal kickbacks for client referrals as part of initiatives to promote its Electronic Health Records platform athenaClinicals. Two qui tam relators whose whistleblower complaints exposed the fraud