Mass. Medicaid Gets $9M In Bristol-Myers Settlement
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has agreed to pay $9.2 million into the state's Medicaid program to settle longstanding accusations of improper marketing, price inflation and kickbacks.
The pharmaceutical giant, which is developing a massive manufacturing facility in Devens, has been under investigation by the federal government and attorneys general from Massachusetts, Ohio, New York, New Mexico, Vermont and Pennsylvania. Investigators have been pursuing allegations against BMS for seven years.
According to state Attorney General Martha Coakley, BMS falsely inflated wholesale prices for generic drugs made and marketed by Apothecon, a BMS subsidiary. The price inflation led to reimbursement overpayments from Medicare and Medicaid.
BMS and Apothecon were also accused of giving kickbacks to pharmacies and wholesalers in order to increase the market share of their products.
Investigators also alleged that BMS marketed powerful, lucrative anti-psychotic drug Abilify, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults, for pediatric use and for use in treating dementia.
The settlement resolves allegations that BMS sold an antidepressant to California-based HMO Kaiser Permanente at a deep discount and concealed that sales data from the federal government.
The combined total of the BMS settlement nationwide is $389 million.
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