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Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Novartis Sales Reps To Testify They Plied Doctors With Meals, Booze In Exchange For Prescription Promises
Stat: Ex-Novartis Sales Reps To Testify They Got Prescriptions By Wooing Doctors
Former Novartis sales reps from around the U.S. are expected to testify they were “essentially buying” prescriptions in exchange for providing doctors with paid speaking engagements, fancy meals, and alcohol in a closely watched lawsuit that is being pressed by the federal government. And both doctors and sales reps are expected to testify that payments were made for speaking engagements that never took place, and that many of these events had little to no educational content, but were really just schmoozefests, according to a court filing on Monday by federal prosecutors. (Silverman, 3/20)
Bloomberg: Novartis Sales Reps Will Testify About Lavish Meals, U.S. Says
One sales representative said he and his colleagues were “essentially buying scripts” by providing health-care providers across the country with perks, including paid speaking opportunities at events with "little to no educational content," prosecutors said in a filing Monday in federal court in Manhattan. The government sought to highlight the depth of its evidence after Novartis had asked a judge to rule that there was insufficient proof to move forward. The government urged U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe to reject the request and set a trial date. (Larson, 3/20)
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