Whistleblower Suit Filed Against Amgen
Recently, we published two blog posts regarding lawsuits brought under the federal False Claims Act ("FCA"). In those posts, we explained how a consumer may file a Qui Tam action -- Latin for a lawsuit filed by an individual on behalf of the government pursuant to the federal False Claims Act -- against a company for engaging in fraud. We also pointed out that such a lawsuit allows the filer to keep up to half of any damages recovered on behalf of the government.
In another example of a consumer filing a claim under the FCA, the biotechnology pharmaceutical company Amgen has been accused of engaging in illegal kickbacks to promote sales of its anemia drug Aranesp. Kassie Westmoreland, a former Amgen sales representative, filed a whistleblower suit alleging that Amgen provided free samples of Aranesp to doctors and clinics. The free samples had small extra amounts of the drug in each vial. The medical practices could then make a profit by billing insurers, including state Medicaid programs, for the extra drug.
Regulations require that syringes and vials contain a tiny extra amount of drug. This is meant to ensure that patients get a full dose. The whistleblower suits allege that Amgen took advantage of this by increasing the amount of “overfill” in Aranesp vials beyond what was strictly necessary. It then told medical providers that they could make more money if they used Aranesp because they could bill insurers -- or Medicaid -- for that extra amount whether they gave it all to a single patient or saved the extra portions to give to other patients. For example, the states' lawsuit asserts that New York’s Medicaid program paid at least $1.8 million in reimbursements for the overfill from April, 2004 through July, 2009.
“In an egregious violation of the law, Amgen allegedly bribed medical providers and left taxpayers footing the bill for free drug samples,” said Andrew Cuomo, the attorney general of New York, whose office led the states’ investigation.
If you think, or have proof, that state Medicaid programs and/or the U.S. government are being defrauded, please contact us to discuss your potential whistleblower case.