More on Zofran and GlaxoSmithKline
Teva, which sells versions of AstraZeneca Plc's Prilosec ulcer drug and
Purdue Pharma LP's Oxycontin painkiller, in acquiring Ivax, gets Ivax's rights to copycats of Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft antidepressant and GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] Plc's Zofran for nausea.
Separately, drug maker GSK engaged in a scheme to inflate the price of Zofran and Kytril for the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, which reimburse health-care providers based on the manufacturers' prices. The
drugs are used mainly to counter nausea brought on by chemotherapy and radiation. But GSK charged health-care providers less for the drugs,
knowing that the providers would get to pocket the difference, the Justice Department said. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 21 Sept 2005]
Glaxo admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. "We believe that our price reporting was lawful and was done in good faith, but we've agreed to this settlement to avoid the delay, expense and uncertainty of litigation," said Mary Anne Rhyne, a company spokeswoman.
The case against GSK over Zofran was brought as a so-called whistleblower suit by Ven-A- Care, a Florida pharmacy. The company will receive about $ 26m from the settlement, through the US's legal system of incentives and protection for whistleblowers. It marks another blow to the reputation of the pharmaceutical industry in the US at a time when polls put its public standing on a par with the tobacco industry. Legal pressure on dubious marketing practices has been used by state and federal agencies as a tool to drive down drug prices and limit the ballooning costs of the public health system. [from The Independent, 21 Sept. 2005]
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Separately, Eli Lilly is to pay $700 million to settle most lawsuits claiming that the company failed to warn of risks related to Zyprexa, a schizophrenia and bipolar disorder drug. The suits claimed Zyprexa caused diabetes and other disorders. Eli Lily does not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.
Purdue Pharma LP's Oxycontin painkiller, in acquiring Ivax, gets Ivax's rights to copycats of Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft antidepressant and GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] Plc's Zofran for nausea.
Separately, drug maker GSK engaged in a scheme to inflate the price of Zofran and Kytril for the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, which reimburse health-care providers based on the manufacturers' prices. The
drugs are used mainly to counter nausea brought on by chemotherapy and radiation. But GSK charged health-care providers less for the drugs,
knowing that the providers would get to pocket the difference, the Justice Department said. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 21 Sept 2005]
Glaxo admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. "We believe that our price reporting was lawful and was done in good faith, but we've agreed to this settlement to avoid the delay, expense and uncertainty of litigation," said Mary Anne Rhyne, a company spokeswoman.
The case against GSK over Zofran was brought as a so-called whistleblower suit by Ven-A- Care, a Florida pharmacy. The company will receive about $ 26m from the settlement, through the US's legal system of incentives and protection for whistleblowers. It marks another blow to the reputation of the pharmaceutical industry in the US at a time when polls put its public standing on a par with the tobacco industry. Legal pressure on dubious marketing practices has been used by state and federal agencies as a tool to drive down drug prices and limit the ballooning costs of the public health system. [from The Independent, 21 Sept. 2005]
***
Separately, Eli Lilly is to pay $700 million to settle most lawsuits claiming that the company failed to warn of risks related to Zyprexa, a schizophrenia and bipolar disorder drug. The suits claimed Zyprexa caused diabetes and other disorders. Eli Lily does not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 4:57 PM
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