Doctors pushed HIV drugs on patients in exchange for sumptuous meals, travel and money: prosecutors

A pharmaceutical company that would have paid doctors’ bribes to push their drugs against HIV / AIDS has agreed to pay a fine of more than $ 200 million to pay a civil prosecution filed by federal prosecutors.

The government alleged that Gilead had encouraged doctors to prescribe a series of HIV / AIDS medication in exchange for honor payments, meals and travel expenses for health professionals. The prosecutors said that the company had created a program where health practitioners who spoke or assisted Gilead speaker events, and used events as a means of providing bribes.

“For years, Gilead has illegally sought to increase the sales of HIV drugs, using his speaker programs to channel the bribes to doctors. As presumed, Gilead spent tens of millions of dollars on these programs, including more than $ 20 million in speaking costs and millions of others in exorbitant meals, alcohol and travel, Effort to induce doctors to prescribe drugs against Gilead, sales for the use of Gilead.

“Thanks to these regulations, Gilead has taken responsibility for his conduct and agreed to pay an important financial penalty. The message is clear, companies that illegally drain dollars from taxpayers of federal health care programs will be held responsible,” he said.

The government has also alleged that the regime had led to false complaints for drugs against HIV Gilead submitted and paid by federal health care programs. For this reason, more than $ 176 million in the fine will be offset by the government, the rest being distributed to several states.

A speaker HIV, who received more than $ 300,000 in total honor payments, wrote prescriptions for drugs against HIV Gilead which led to more than $ 6 million in Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare payments.

HIV Gilead antiretroviral drugs are expensive, a medication paying more than $ 1,000 for a one -month offer in Complera®, for example. From 2011 to November 2017, the company led HIV speaker programs, ostensibly for educational purposes.

However, prosecutors say that many events had little educational value and that Gilead would invite the same doctors again and again to the same program. Events have often taken place in fantasy restaurants in New York, notably in James Beard House, Del Posto, Asiate, Palma, Vaucluse, Ilili and Limani.

The other desirable locations for events included Hawaii, Miami and New Orleans. Prosecutors noted that sometimes the location was selected in response to the request of a HIV speaker to book for a program in this city.

Originally published on Lawyer Herald