Shire Pharmaceuticals finalized an agreement to pay $350 million to settle federal and state allegations that the drug maker and a company it acquired several years ago paid kickbacks to induce doctors and clinics to use or overuse its Dermagraft bioengineered human skin substitute. The product was approved to treat diabetic foot ulcers.
The practices noted by the US Department of Justice read like a page out of a familiar illegal marketing handbook that many other drug makers have used in the past. The companies provided cash, lavish dinners, drinks, entertainment and travel; medical equipment and supplies; unwarranted payments for purported speaking engagements and bogus case studies to boost use of the treatment.
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