Whistleblower can’t vault first-to-file bar by amending – 2nd Circuit

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that a whistleblower suing Allergan Inc could not avoid a ban on pursuing such lawsuits when a similar one has already been filed by amending his complaint following the dismissal of the earlier case. read more »

Drug maker AstraZeneca agrees to pay $110 million to settle Texas Medicaid fraud claims

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will pay $110 million to settle a pair of whistle-blower lawsuits accusing the company of falsely marketing two of its drugs to Texas Medicaid providers, including illegally promoting a powerful antipsychotic medicine for use by children.

The cases were filed in 2013 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, which accused the United Kingdom-based drug maker of “off-label marketing” of Crestor, a cholesterol medicine, and Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug used to treat conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The state initially sought $5 billion in its lawsuit.

As far back as 2007, AstraZeneca allegedly marketed Seroquel to Texas Medicaid providers who primarily treated children at a time when the drug had not been approved as safe for patients under 18. That included hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal payments to two former state hospital doctors to influence the use of the drug, as well as misrepresenting the drug’s potency and side effects, according to the attorney general’s office. read more »

Prime Healthcare, CEO to pay $65M Medicare fraud settlement

Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services, as well as its nonprofit arm, consulting subsidiary and CEO, agreed to pay $65 million to the federal government to resolve allegations hospitals submitted false Medicare claims and admitted patients who only needed cheaper, outpatient care, according to the Justice Department.

As part of the settlement, Prime Healthcare founder and CEO Prem Reddy, MD, will pay $3.25 million, while Prime Healthcare, Prime Healthcare Foundation and Prime Healthcare Management will pay $61.75 million.

The settlement involves 10 Prime Healthcare Services-owned hospitals and four Prime Healthcare Foundation-owned hospitals in California, according to the Justice Department. read more »

SEC Charges U.S. Congressman and Others With Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the filing of insider trading charges against Congressman Christopher Collins, the U.S. Representative for New York’s 27th Congressional District, his son, Cameron Collins, and a third individual, Stephen Zarsky. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced related criminal charges.

Christopher Collins, who served as an independent director of an Australian biotech company, Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd., is charged with tipping Cameron Collins after receiving confidential information about negative clinical trial results for Innate’s multiple sclerosis drug. Cameron Collins and his girlfriend’s father, Stephen Zarsky, are charged with trading and tipping others on the basis of the material, nonpublic information. read more »