AstraZeneca To Pay $7.9 Million To Resolve Kickback Allegations

WILMINGTON, Del. – AstraZeneca LP, a pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Delaware, has agreed to pay the government $7.9 million to settle allegations that it engaged in a kickback scheme in violation of the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today.  AstraZeneca markets and sells pharmaceutical products in the United States, including a drug sold under the trade name Nexium.

“We will continue to pursue pharmaceutical companies that pay kickbacks to pharmacy benefit managers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Hidden financial agreements between drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers can improperly influence which drugs are available to patients and the price paid for drugs.”

The settlement resolves allegations that AstraZeneca agreed to provide remuneration to Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefit manager, in exchange for Medco maintaining Nexium’s “sole and exclusive” status on certain Medco formularies and through other marketing activities related to those Medco formularies.  The United States alleged that AstraZeneca provided some or all of the remuneration to Medco through price concessions on drugs other than Nexium, namely on Prilosec, Toprol XL and Plendil.  The United States contended that this kickback arrangement between AstraZeneca and Medco violated the Federal Anti-Kickback statute, and thereby caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims for Nexium to the Retiree Drug Subsidy Program.

“By this agreement we are making important strides in holding drug manufacturers accountable not only in Delaware but nationwide,” said U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware.  “I am proud of the tireless work by this office to investigate this case.”

This civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provision of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens with knowledge of false claims to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.  The lawsuit was filed by former AstraZeneca employees Paul DiMattia and F. Folger Tuggle, who will collectively receive $1,422,000. 

The settlement with AstraZeneca was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. 

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23.5 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $15 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The False Claims Act lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and is captioned United States ex rel. DiMattia et al. v. AstraZeneca LP et al. No. 10-910 (D. Del.).  The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.