After seven years of litigation, Celgene agreed to pay $280 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that accused the biotech of marketing two cancer drugs for off-label uses, which caused federal and state health care programs to pay for prescriptions that were not eligible for reimbursement.
The lawsuit was filed by a former sales rep named Beverly Brown, who alleged Celgene paid doctors to write off-label prescriptions. Doctors are permitted to write prescriptions for any use, but it is illegal for companies to promote medicines for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Her 2010 lawsuit also claimed the company donated to charities that help patients pay for medicines, which prompted the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to probe at least one charity.
About the Author Reprints
