Novartis is the subject of a complaint in the United States and risks having to pay large fines and compensation: the Justice Department and the New York Public Prosecutor's Office accuse the American branch of the Basel-based pharmaceutical giant of inciting pharmacies to favor one of its products, Myfortic, by paying them illegal commissions worth millions of dollars. Novartis rejects the allegations.
According to the complaint by the US authorities, since 2005 Novartis has induced at least twenty pharmacies "to direct thousands of patients returning from a kidney transplant" to its product, offering them bribes in the form of rebates and discounts, indicates a statement from the services of the New York Attorney General.
For example, the group allegedly offered a Los Angeles pharmacy "a 'bonus' discount equivalent to 5% of its annual sales of Myfortic" to get it to convince 700 to 1,000 patients to choose the Novartis drug over competitors or generics. This 'bonus' would be equivalent to several hundred thousand dollars.
These illegal practices have allegedly "resulted in reimbursements in the order of tens of millions of dollars" for Myfortic from government health insurance programs for the elderly and the poorest (Medicare and Medicaid), the document said.
Novartis "rejects the allegations". The group "will defend itself," a Novartis spokesman said in an email sent to the French news agency AFP.
In September 2010, the US subsidiary of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC) was ordered to pay $422.5 million in fines and settlements for violating marketing regulations for some drugs, including the epilepsy drug Trileptal.
SWITZERLAND |24.04.2013 | ticinonews
Novartis, first quarter profit rises to $2.42 billion (+6.7%)
Basel (Switzerland), 24 April. (LaPresse/AP) – Novartis closed the first quarter of 2013 with profit up 6.7% to $2.42 billion, compared with $2.27 billion a year earlier. The Swiss pharmaceutical group showed a clear turnaround from the decline de
