Biogen to pay $900 million to settle prescription drug kickback allegations

Biogen volition wage $900 cardinal to settee a suit that alleged the institution gave doctors kickbacks to promote them prescribe its drugs, the Justice Department announced connected Monday.

A erstwhile Biogen worker turned whistleblower, Michael Bawduniak, sued the pharmaceutical institution successful 2012 connected behalf of the national authorities nether the False Claims Act.

Bawduniak alleged Biogen paid kickbacks to doctors successful the signifier of speaking fees, consulting fees and meals from 2009 done 2014 to promote them to prescribe its aggregate sclerosis drugs.

The alleged kickbacks resulted successful mendacious claims to Medicare and Medicaid for the medicine of Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera, according to the Justice Department.

Biogen volition wage much than $843 cardinal to the national authorities and $56 cardinal to 15 states to settee the case. Bawduniak volition person astir $250 cardinal of the national proceeds, according to the Justice Department.

"The colony announced contiguous underscores the captious relation that whistleblowers play successful complementing the United States' usage of the False Claims Act to combat fraud affecting national wellness attraction programs," said Brian Boynton, caput of the Justice Department's Civil Division.

Biogen, successful a connection Monday, denied immoderate wrongdoing successful the case. The institution said it wanted to resoluteness the litigation to absorption connected different priorities.

"Biogen believes its intent and behaviour was astatine each times lawful and due and Biogen denies each allegations raised successful this case," the institution said. "The U.S. and the states did not intervene successful the lawsuit and the colony does not see any admission of liability by Biogen."

Biogen disclosed successful its 2nd 4th study that it had reached an statement successful rule to wage $900 cardinal to resoluteness the lawsuit.