Pfizer to pay $59.7 million over kickbacks for migraine drug

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) can pay $59.7 million to resolve costs that an organization it acquired defrauded Medicare and different healthcare packages by paying kickbacks so medical doctors would prescribe the migraine drug Nurtec ODT, the U.S. Division of Justice mentioned on Friday.

The Justice Division mentioned that from March 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2022, Biohaven Prescribed drugs violated the federal False Claims Act by offering speaker honoraria and meals at high-end eating places to medical doctors, to induce them to prescribe Nurtec extra usually.

Based on the federal government, some speaker packages had been attended a number of occasions by the identical medical doctors, leading to no academic profit, or attended by medical doctors’ spouses, relations and colleagues who had no academic should be there.

Pfizer ended the Nurtec speaker packages after paying $11.5 billion to purchase Biohaven in October 2022.

“Sufferers need to know that their physician is prescribing drugs primarily based on their physician’s medical judgment, and never on account of monetary incentives from pharmaceutical firms,” mentioned Trini Ross, U.S. Legal professional for the Western District of New York.

Pfizer didn’t admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

“We’re happy to place this legacy matter behind us, in order that we are able to proceed to give attention to the wants of sufferers,” the New York-based drugmaker mentioned in a press release.

The settlement resolves an August 2021 lawsuit filed within the Rochester, New York federal court docket by Patricia Frattasio, a former Biohaven neuroscience gross sales specialist.

She is going to obtain about $8.4 million from the settlement. About $41.8 million will go to the federal authorities and $9.5 million will go to state Medicaid packages.

The False Claims Act lets whistleblowers sue on behalf of the federal government, and share in recoveries.