On January 9, 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Department of Justice, along with several state Medicaid programs, announced that Daiichi Sankyo Inc. (“Daiichi”), a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese pharmaceutical company, agreed to pay $39 million to settle alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act (“FCA”).
In March 2010, a qui tam lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The allegation contained in the lawsuit related to speaker programs that Daiichi hosted between January 2004 and March 2011. The qui tam plaintiff, a former Daiichi sales representative, asserted that Daiichi inappropriately compensated physicians that participated in the speaker programs. The six primary allegations included:
- The program honoraria recipient only spoke to member of his or her own staff in his or her own office;
- Physicians took turns accepting speaker honoraria for duplicative discussions;
- The audience include the honoraria’s spouse;
- The honoraria recipient did not speak at all because the event was previously canceled;
- The program dinners exceeded Daiichi’s internal cost limitation of $140 per person; and
- Drugs that were promoted at the programs (Azor, Benicar, Tribenzor, and Welchol) were used for off-label purposes.
The Government contended that the meals, honoraria, and other remuneration paid to participating physicians amounted to illegal kickbacks that ultimately induced the physicians to prescribe the drugs for off-label use. Furthermore, this resulted in pharmacies unknowingly submitting false prescription drug claims because prescriptions for off-label uses are typically not eligible for reimbursement.
In addition to paying $39 million, Diiachi agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement that obligates it to implement dramatic internal reforms over the next five years. Specifically, the corporate integrity agreement mandates that Diiachi enact compliance programs to prevent similar improper practices from reoccurring. For the qui tam plaintiff’s services, the former employee will receive $6.1 million of the Government’s recovery.
Wachler & Associates regularly counsels providers regarding the FCA, Anti-Kickback Statute, and other federal and state fraud and abuse laws and assists in developing compliance programs to address these laws. If you or your healthcare entity have any questions regarding the FCA, Anti-Kickback Statute, and/or other federal and state fraud and abuse laws, please contact an experienced healthcare attorney at 248-544-0888 or via email at wapc@wachler.com.