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Does Aggressive and Sometimes Illegal Pharmaceutical Marketing Pay Off?

By Robert David, Esq.

Early in the last decade the federal government began paying substantial attention to the marketing of drugs by manufacturers. Investigations and eventual settlements with Tap Pharmaceuticals ($875 million) and AstraZeneca ($350 million) paved the way for compliance guidance by CMS Office of Inspector General (OIG) published in 2003. The guidance addressed potentially illegal marketing practices and the connection between marketing practices, kickbacks and false claims. The fraud related to the reporting of pricing by manufacturers to the government as well as the enabling of providers to charge for drugs given to them for free. The kickback issues related to all manner of gifts, grants, research monies paid to physicians to induce them to prescribe particular drugs as well as rebates, unreported discounts on drug products administered by physicians...continue to full post

Full post as published by Health Care Fraud Blog on December 22, 2009 (boomark / email).