Multiple sclerosis: Biogen to settle claims it bribed doctors to prescribe drugs, with over $200m going to whistleblower

The drug company Biogen has agreed in principle to pay $900m (£750m; €880m) to settle allegations it had bribed doctors to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drugs under the guise of paying them consultancy fees. The drugs were then billed to US Medicare and Medicaid as well as private insurers, costing the government hundreds of millions of dollars.The lawsuit against Biogen was lodged in 2012 by a former sales director, Michael Bawduniak. After 10 years of negotiation the company settled days before a trial was due to start. The agreement in principle, revealed in a 20 July quarterly statement,1 does not include an admission of wrongdoing.Under the US False Claims Act, company employees or other whistleblowers who believe they have witnessed the US government being defrauded may themselves sue the alleged perpetrator. If the government’s lawyers believe the case is strong, they may join it. The whistleblower plaintiff is entitled to…
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