Pharmaceutical Kickbacks

Right now the pharmaceutical industry is in the middle of its biggest challenge in history. Whistleblowers have exposed and continue to expose fraudulent practices ranging from pricing issues to sales and marketing practices at a rate never anticipated by either the pharmaceutical industry or the Department of Justice. Settlements and jury verdicts have been headline grabbing and large, attracting the attention of pharma, regulators, Congress and taxpayers. The qui tam pharmaceutical fraud cases settled since 2000 alone have amounted to over 3.5 billion dollars, representing various patterns of fraud. We expect to see some new patterns as time goes by, especially with the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Pharmaceutical fraud is still abundant and this blog is intended to keep readers up to date with all pharmaceutical fraud related news and to provide commentary when warranted. This blog also contains an array of laws and regulations concerning the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act set out in an easy to read format.

Major Medical Journal No Longer to Silence Whistleblowers

by Nolan and Auerbach on July 10, 2009

A recent move by a major medical journal could provide more timely disclosure of alleged undisclosed conflicts of interests between researchers and pharmaceutical companies. The Wall Street Journal reported July 7, 2009, that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has softened its policy demanding that anyone filing a complaint about unreported conflicts of interest must not reveal the information to third parties or the media while the investigation is underway. In an editorial published early in July in JAMA, editors modified the policy so that it does not explicitly require silence during the investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

JAMA has been criticized “for taking five months to acknowledge that a study it published last year on the use of antidepressants in stroke patients was written by a University of Iowa psychiatrist who failed to disclose he had a financial relationship with the maker of the drug studied,” according to the article.

For the full article, go to: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB124700923018308521-lMyQjAxMDI5NDA3NzAwMDc5Wj.html.

For more information about qui tam law and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

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