Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Regeneron Used Charity In Kickback Scheme To Pay Medicare Patients, Prosecutors Allege
Stat: Federal Prosecutors Allege Regeneron Used A Charity To Pay Kickbacks To Medicare Patients
Federal officials on Wednesday alleged that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) donated tens of millions of dollars to a foundation, but the payments were actually kickbacks to Medicare patients and designed to cover their out-of-pocket costs for a pricey eye medication. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston, the federal government accused Regeneron of using the Chronic Disease Fund to ensure that, in 2013 and 2014, Medicare patients did not have to make a co-payment or deductible for Eylea macular degeneration drug. (Silverman, 6/24)
The New York Times: Regeneron Funneled Kickbacks Through A Patient Charity, Federal Lawsuit Claims
The drugmaker Regeneron funneled tens of millions of dollars to a charity that paid the out-of-pocket costs for patients who took the company’s expensive eye drug, then lied to internal auditors about it, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by federal prosecutors in Massachusetts. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in Boston, claims that Regeneron violated federal anti-kickback laws by using the patient-assistance fund to encourage doctors to prescribe their drug, Eylea, over a less-expensive competitor. (Thomas, 6/24)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Augusta University Medical To Refund $2.6M In False Medical Bills
Augusta University Medical Center has agreed to a $2.625 million settlement with federal investigators after the center submitted false Medicare and Medicaid billing statements in Georgia and South Carolina, U.S. Justice Department officials announced Wednesday. The center billed the programs for a procedure it classified as a “Belsey Collis.” U.S. Justice Department officials began an investigation in late 2018 because there is no such procedure. (Stirgus, 6/25)
In more news related to the pharmaceutical industry —
Stat: Yumanity, Merck Strike Deal On Medicines For Neurodegenerative Disease
Yumanity Therapeutics, a small neuroscience-focused startup co-founded by longtime biotech executive Tony Coles, is pairing up with pharma giant Merck to develop new treatments for two neuro-degenerative diseases, the companies announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, Merck is licensing two Yumanity research programs with the goal of identifying novel treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and frontotemporal lobar dementia, a group of related conditions resulting from the degeneration of brain cells. (Feuerstein, 6/24)
