This sounds familiar, and not in a good way. From the Boston Globe: Court reinstates J&J kickback case. Among the charges alleged by two former salespeople are that Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Biotech Products unit gave kickbacks to docs who prescribed its Procrit anemia drug, most of which were covered by Medicare.
From the Globe: "Jan Schlichtmann, attorney for the former salesmen, said Ortho Biotech ran “an extensive scheme’’ in which doctors were given free Procrit, honoraria, speaking fees, “off-the-invoice discounts,’’ and other monetary inducements to give their patients Procrit, particularly after the drug faced competition from rival Amgen Inc.’s Aranesp...
Johnson & Johnson spokesman Bill Foster said one of the two main claims in the suit was dismissed by the appeals court. “We are pleased with the Court of Appeals decision (on that claim) and will vigorously defend against the remaining allegations,’’ Foster said. “We intend to seek dismissal of this last remaining claim.’’ [emphasis mine]
While this may be back in the news today, let's all keep in mind that this happened, if it happened, in the 1990s, not yesterday.
