Getting Rich Exposing Pharma Fraud

Eamon Javers of CNBC reported recently that A Florida Company called Ven-A-Care has become a profitable whistle blower against Pharmaceutical fraud.
Javers reported that in one case Ven-A-Care found that there appears to be a pattern of overbilling by some Pharmaceutical companies. These pharma firms are selling drugs to patients (mainly elderly) for a set amount and the pharmaceutical company would bill the US Government via Medicare and Medicaid 500 to 2000% markup.

In Dec. 2010 the US Justice Department announced that Dey Inc. Dey Pharma L.P. and Dey L.P. Inc. had agreed to pay $280 million to settle False Claims Act allegations, the Department of Justice disclosed via their website. The United States alleged that Dey reported false prices for the following drugs Albuterol Sulfate, Albuterol MDI, Cromolyn Sodium and Ipratropium Bromide. The Justice department indicated that the Dey Pharma inflated government payments where they charge the Medicare and Medicaid a higher amount over actual price paid by health care providers. This discovery was related by Ven-A-Care.

The Los Angeles times reports that a Texas jury ordered two subsidiaries of Icelandic pharmaceuticals company Actavis to pay $170 million for overcharging the Texas Medicaid program. This was also relayed by Ven-A-Care and they will be rewarded as a “relator”

Ven-A-Care filed whistleblower suits against drug companies in 18 cases thus far since 2001 with settlements to date according to the Los Angeles Times are at least $2.2 billion for state and federal governments and at least $380 million in whistle blower fees for the four partners involved in Ven-A-Care's litigation. Some other big named pharmaceutical companies have settled or were fined such as Bayer Inc., Abbott Laboratories Inc., B. Braun Medical Inc., Roxane Laboratories Inc.,and GlaxoSmithKline to name a few.

These are the kinds of wiki leaks the government likes as all injured benefit, especially the taxpayer and government. It also shows a pattern of immoral and unethical behavior of the pharmaceutical industry by overbilling, overprescribing, and erroneous positive tests of their drugs against placebos.

Almost $Billion Fine in DOJ GlaxoSmithKline Fraud Case, Whistle Blower Gets $96 Million

Bloomberg News By Justin Blum, David Voreacos and Andrew Harris Oct 26,2010
This is the complete Bloomberg article
GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to pay $750 million to settle a U.S. government false-claims lawsuit over the sale of defective drugs.

Glaxo, the U.K.’s largest drugmaker, and the U.S. Justice Department announced the accord today, resolving a lawsuit first filed in 2004 by Cheryl D. Eckard, a former global quality assurance manager for the London-based company.

“This is not something I wanted to do, but because of patient safety it was necessary,” Eckard, 51, told reporters following a Justice Department press conference in Boston. As a whistleblower, she will receive $96 million from the settlement money.

Glaxo was accused in court papers of selling tainted drugs under false pretenses. The medicines, made at a Glaxo plant in Cidra, Puerto Rico, were misidentified as a result of product mix-ups, according to papers filed in federal court in Boston. The affected drugs included the antidepressant Paxil CR and the diabetes treatment Avandamet.

The settlement includes a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $150 million and a $600 million civil settlement under the False Claims Act and related state claims, the Justice Department said in a statement.

“We will not tolerate corporate attempts to profit at the expense of the ill and needy in our society -- or those who cut corners that result in potentially dangerous consequences to consumers,” Carmen M. Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney in Boston, said at today’s news conference.

Guilty Plea

SB Pharmco Puerto Rico Inc., a Glaxo unit, agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of adulterated drugs made at the now-shuttered plant, the Justice Department said. Glaxo said in July it had agreed in principle with the U.S. to pay 500 million pounds ($791 million) to resolve the investigation.

“We regret that we operated the Cidra facility in a manner that was inconsistent with current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements and with GSK’s commitment to manufacturing quality,” PD Villarreal, a Glaxo senior vice president, said in an e-mailed statement.

Eckard’s take is the largest ever for a single whistleblower, said Patrick Burns, spokesman for Taxpayers Against Fraud, a nonprofit Washington group that publicizes the use of legal means to combat fraud against the U.S. The federal government will receive $436.4 million from the settlement and participating states will split as much as $163.6 million, the Justice Department said.

‘Serious Deficiencies’

Other drugs made at the plant include Kytril, an anti- nausea medication, and Bactroban, an ointment used to treat skin infections, the Justice Department said.

“The false claims arose out of chronic, serious deficiencies in the quality assurance function at the Cidra plant and the defendants’ ongoing serious violations of the laws and regulations designed to ensure the fitness of drug products for use,” the government said in court papers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2005 seized some Paxil CR lots after it was discovered that the pills sometimes split inappropriately, according to court papers. Some of the pills lacked an active ingredient.

“We did not uncover any evidence that patients were harmed from these adulterated batches,” Ortiz said today. “It is critical we keep pressure on companies to follow FDA standards and play by the rules.”

Eckard’s complaint was joined by the states of California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, Chicago and New York City.

The case is U.S. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 04-10375, U.S. District Court for Massachusetts (Boston)

To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Blum in Washington at jblum4@bloomberg.net; Andrew M. Harris in Chicago at aharris16@bloomberg.net; David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net.