December 01, 2015.
Novartis is paying $390 million to settle charges that it paid kickbacks to pharmacies to encourage drug sales, reports Specialty Pharmacy Times.
A US government lawsuit maintained that a US unit of Novartis violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute with its incentives to sell the iron chelator Exjade and the immunosuppressant Myfortic.
Novartis allegedly gave patient referrals, discounts, and rebates to Accredo Health Group, Bioscrip Inc, and US Bioservices Corporation to encourage these specialty pharmacies to recommend that patients order Exjade refills.
The lawsuit also alleged that Novartis paid kickbacks in the form of rebates to the pharmacies so that they would encourage refills of the oral iron chelator.
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