Amgen vs. Cuomo
by ilene - October 30th, 2009 4:58 pm
Amgen: Cuomo’s Full Of It (AMGN)
Courtesy of Lawrence Delevingne at Clusterstock
Amgen has responded to the charges of corruption and fraud related to its big anemia drug, Aranesp, made by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today along with 14 other states.
Amgen spokesman David Polk told us "We believe that the allegations are without merit, and we look forward to the opportunity to examine these matters with the states before the Court."
Polk adds: "Because this lawsuit is now in litigation, we are limited in our remarks," and that "Amgen has a solid compliance program and Code of Conduct called “Do The Right Thing,” and we expect that all of our employees follow it at all times."
AMGN was down 0.56 today, or -1.03%.
See also Lawrence Delevingne’s earlier entry:
Amgen Down As Cuomo Alleges Massive Corruption, Kickbacks, And Fraud (AMGN)
Breaking from the New York Attorney General’s Office:
NEW YORK, NY (October 30, 2009) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York and 14 other states are filing a lawsuit against Biotech giant Amgen following an investigation spearheaded by
his office into a nationwide kickback scheme to boost drug sales.
In a lawsuit filed today in federal court the states charge drug manufacturer Amgen, International Nephrology Network (INN), a specialty group purchasing organization, and ASD Healthcare, a wholesaler, with offering kickbacks to medical providers to increase sales of Amgen’s anemia drug, Aranesp.
“Drugs should be prescribed to patients on the basis of need, effectiveness, and safety, not on a corporate giant’s promise of an all-expense paid vacation,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “In an egregious violation of the law, Amgen allegedly bribed medical providers and left taxpayers footing the bill for free drug samples. My office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to work with our partners in other states to uncover these kinds of abuses.”
According to the multi-state complaint, the companies would encourage medical providers to bill third party payers such as Medicaid for free Aranesp that were provided at no cost. Amgen is further alleged to have conspired with INN and ASD Healthcare to offer illegal kickbacks to medical providers, such as sham consultancy agreements, weekend retreats, or other services to induce them to purchase and prescribe Aranesp with the intention and effect of increasing sales of Aranesp and converting new providers from competitor drugs to Aranesp.


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