Under a settlement agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay state Medicaid programs a combined total of $515 million to settle lawsuits against the company and its former wholly-owned subsidiary, Apothecon, Inc. The settlement involves lawsuits filed against the New York-based drug maker by 44 states and the District of Columbia over the company’s marketing and pricing of prescription medications paid by the participating states’ Medicaid programs. Like most other drug companies, BMS reported inflated prices for various prescription drugs. Those prices were used by states and federal health care programs to determine the prices paid for Squibb and Apothecon products.

The two companies were also accused of paying healthcare providers and pharmacies incentives to purchase Squibb and Apothecon products as well as promoting the sale and use of the antipsychotic drug Abilify for unapproved uses. In addition to settling state and federal claims, Bristol-Myers Squibb has entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that requires the drug company to report its average sales prices and average manufacturers’ prices in the future.

The states that elected to be a part of the national settlement began to receive their share of the settlement funds last month. However, Alabama elected not to participate in the national settlement and will try its case separately in Montgomery County Circuit Court. The Attorney General and all of the lawyers representing the state feel that Alabama’s claim has more value in a separate lawsuit.

Source: Legal Newsline

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