Posts Tagged ‘ Off Label Marketing ’

Top 10 Whistleblower Cases of 2012 Net Over $7.5B

February 4th, 2013. By AbiK

A recent report by the Federal Elections Commission has come out putting the cost of the recent election cycle at more than $7 billion. That’s a lot of money. Enough that the folks over at Newsy put together the little video clip (above) about it.

But $7 billion ironically pops up in another tally for 2012—the top 10 whistleblower settlements for the year add up to more than $7.5 billion. It’s a staggering amount—not only for an election, but also for whistleblower cases as, think about it, it only represents the tip of the iceberg.

If you’re wondering what those whistleblower settlements were, here’s the list:

1. GlaxoSmithKine – $3 billion

Reason: Illegally marketing some of its prescription drugs such as Paxil, Avandia, Advair, Wellbutrin, Zofran, Imitrex, Lamictal, Lotronex, Floven and Valtrex.

2. Abbott Laboratories – $1.5 billion

Reason: Abbott’s off-label marketing of Depakote.

3. Bank of America – $1 billion

Reason: Mortgage and bank fraud.

4. Merck – $950 million

Reason: Marketing Vioxx illegally

5. Pfizer – $491 million

Reason: Kickbacks and using off-label marketing for organ transplant rejection drug, Rapamune

6. Senior Care Action Network – $323 million

Reason: California Medicaid and HMO cost reporting fraud.

7. Actavis – $202 million

Reason: to settle numerous claims that the company reported inflated prices of its drugs, causing the US and four state governments to overpay.

8. Deutsche Bank – $202 million

Reason: False certification for HUD/FHA loans

9. Oracle – $199 million

Reason: Failure to provide discount pricing

10. McKesson – $190 million

Reason: Accusations that the company inflated prices of numerous prescription drugs, resulting in Medicaid overpaying for those drugs.

Tags: false claims, Fraud, Off Label Marketing, Whistleblower
Posted in Emerging Issues, Whistleblower | 1 Comment »

Tribeca Film Festival Must-See: “Off Label” Looks at Big Pharma’s Human Guinea Pigs

April 15th, 2012. By AbiK

If you’re lucky enough to be in New York City later this month, try to make it over to the Tribeca Film Festival for a showing of “Off Label”. The movie, by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, takes a look at America’s drug culture—how drugs are tested, marketed, sold and consumed. And it reveals an oft times less-than-pretty picture of big pharma’s ‘twilight zone’, where drugs are tested by human guinea pigs and the results can be shady at best, devastating at worst.

Just as LawyersandSettlements.com brings you the stories of victims who’ve had their lives irrevocably changed by harmful drug side effects, “Off Label” brings you up close and personal with its subjects’ narratives–and it’s definitely worth seeing. Here are the times & venues where you can catch the film:

4/19 – Thursday, 7:00pm, at AMC Village 7, located at 3rd Ave and 11th St.
4/20 – Friday, 7:30pm, at ClearCinemas Chelsea, located at W 23rd @ 7th and 8th Ave
4/23 – Monday, 10:00pm, at AMC Village 7, located at 3rd Ave and 11th St
4/24 – Tuesday, 3:30pm, at ClearCinemas Chelsea, located W 23rd @ 7th and 8th Ave

Tags: Donal Mosher, Drug Side Effects, Michael Palmieri, Off Label Marketing, Off-label, Tribeca Film Festival
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 1 Comment »