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AstraZeneca Pleads Guilty in Zoladex Case
Major pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP pleaded guilty to a large-scale health care crime and agreed to pay $355 million to resolve the associated criminal charges and civil liabilities, according to an announcement released by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA OCI) on June 20. The conspiracy involved illegitimate pricing and marketing of Zoladex, a drug for the treatment of prostate cancer. In one of these schemes, AstraZeneca provided thousands of free samples of Zoladex to physicians, knowing that they would charge their patients and insurance programs for the samples. Another illegal inducement used by the firm involved inflating the price of Zoladex reported to Medicare as the basis for reimbursement, while deeply discounting the actual price charged to the physicians. AstraZeneca also misreported and underpaid the Medicaid rebates it owed to the states for the use of Zoladex. The various schemes used by the firm caused multimillion-dollar losses to federally- and state-funded insurance programs and individual patients.
AstraZeneca pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to violate the Prescription Drug Marketing Act by causing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal providers to be overcharged for Zoladex that had been provided as free samples to urologists. As part of the plea agreement, the company agreed to pay a $63,872,156 criminal fine and to pay $266,127,844 to the U.S. government for claims filed with the Medicare, TriCare, Department of Defense and Railroad Retirement Board programs.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?