pharma Baron gets fined $422.5M - good!

[ensho]

http://www.app.com/article/20100930/BUSINESS/101001066/1003/rss08


Novartis fined $422.5M in kickback case


Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. will pay $422.5 million in penalties for marketing an epilepsy medicine for unapproved uses and for paying kickbacks to doctors to prescribe it and five other drugs, federal officials in Philadelphia announced Thursday.

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Novartis will also pay $237.5 million to resolve civil liabilities over the kickbacks and the off-label marketing of Trileptal, an anti-epileptic medicine, according to a settlement agreement.

The drug maker illegally marketed Trileptal as a treatment for bipolar disorder and nerve pain, sending its sales force to the offices of neurologists, psychiatrists and pain specialists, Memeger said.

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The government also alleges Novartis paid kickbacks to induce doctors to prescribe Trileptal as well as Diovan, Exforge, Tekturna, Zelnorm and Sandostatin.
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article also says that they knew five years ago that they would have to pay a fine so started to put money aside for it. punks.

and so the Dr.s that took the money get off scot free??? not even a slap with a wet noodle?

[L0oniX]

1. Well it just that much less he can give to political campaigns.

[howaboutme]

2. USA Inc

We've become the USA Inc instead of the nation described and outlined by our Constitution. Our nation is not being run the benefit of "We the People". The US people have been propagandized by the establishment political system and powers that be into taking sides and bickering about the small stuff while our rights and country are being hijacked. Until this is reversed the rich will get richer and others will have less.

Every decision such as this that strikes at the heart and abuse of corporate power and creates accountability will eventually work to reverse this.