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Merck to pay over 650 mln dlrs to settle US drug pricing probe
2008-02-07
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. agreed to pay over 650 million dollars to resolve allegations of fraudulent drug pricing and improper kickbacks, the US Justice Department announced Thursday. The settlement hinged on two separate lawsuits relating to claims that Merck failed to pay proper rebates to government health care programs and that it made illegal payments to health care providers as inducements to use Merck products. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said the accord marked "one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements ever achieved by the Justice Department." "It reflects our continuing effort to hold drug companies accountable for devising pricing schemes that deliberately seek to deny federal health care programs the same lower prices for drugs that are available to other commercial customers," Mukasey said. The settlement was partly based on a whistleblower lawsuit brought by former Merck employee, H. Dean Steinke, who claimed that the pharmaceutical firm violated federal law in connection with its marketing of Zocor and Vioxx. Zocor is a cholesterol lowering drug. Vioxx was used to treat acute pain and in the treatment of arthritis and was withdrawn from the market by Merck in September 2004. Steinke's lawsuit alleged that Merck offered deep discounts for the two drugs if hospitals used large quantities of the drugs instead of rival drugs produced by Merck's competitors. The New Jersey-based drugmaker confirmed separately that it had reached a settlement with the government and state authorities in the cases. "The settlements do not constitute an admission by Merck of any liability or wrongdoing," Merck said in a statement. The firm's general counsel and executive vice president, Bruce Kuhlik, said: "We have taken and will continue to take a leadership position in restoring trust in this industry and in ensuring that our interactions with healthcare professionals support the care of patients and further the public health."
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