A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc.
The allegations arose from a lawsuit that claimed Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc (Actelion) illegally paid the copays of thousands of Medicare patients who used the drug maker's hypertension drugs.
According to the government, Actelion used Caring Voice Coalition Inc, a tax-exempt patient financial assistance charity as an illegal conduit to pay the copays for a number of expensive pulmonary arterial hypertension drugs, including Tracleer, Ventavis, Veletri, and Opsumit. The illegal copays induce Medicare patients to buy the drugs that would be otherwise unaffordable.
Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, a pharmaceutical company is prohibited from offering or paying, directly or indirectly, any remuneration—which includes money or any other thing of value— to induce Medicare patients to purchase the company’s drugs. This prohibition extends to the payment of patients’ copay obligations.
“Kickback schemes can undermine our healthcare system, compromise medical decisions, and waste taxpayer dollars,” said Phillip Coyne, Special Agent in Charge, Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Service’s Boston Regional Office. “We will continue to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for subverting the charitable donation process in order to circumvent safeguards designed to protect the integrity of the Medicare program.”
Based in South San Francisco, California, Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc engages in the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical treatments to serve medical needs.
