Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Allergan To Pay $38M Settlement Over Allegations It Rewarded High-Prescribing Doctors
The Wall Street Journal: Allergan Agrees To $38 Million Settlement Linked To Marketing, Sales Practices
Allergan PLC said Thursday two of its subsidiaries had reached a $38 million settlement with federal authorities to resolve an investigation into sales and marketing practices involving three products. Under the settlement terms, subsidiaries Forest Laboratories LLC and Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. will pay the federal government $38 million, which will also cover claims from state Medicaid programs linked to the case. (Minaya, 12/15)
Stat: Allergan Pays $38 Million To Settle Kickback Charges
In another instance of unseemly marketing, a unit of Allergan has agreed to pay $38 million to settle allegations of paying kickbacks to encourage doctors to prescribe four its medicines. As with other drug makers accused of the same practices, the company allegedly rewarded high-prescribing doctors with speaking engagements and these were billed as educational sessions. But in reality, these were often held in fancy restaurants simply to woo still other doctors to attend, according to a whistleblower lawsuit that was filed in 2012 by a former sales rep for Forest Pharmaceuticals, which was later acquired by Allergan. (Silverman, 12/15)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Stat: Sarepta Drug Appears To Be More Popular With Doctors Than Insurers
As investors fret over the modest uptake of the controversial Sarepta Therapeutics drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a new survey suggests the treatment may soon be more widely prescribed, although the findings come with a caveat. About half of 100 neurologists reported they would prescribe the drug to at least 80 percent of their eligible patients and only 10 percent of the physicians indicated they would narrowly restrict its use, according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Simos Simeonidis, who commissioned the poll. (Silverman, 12/15)
