Novartis Paid $678 Million to Resolve Sham Speaker-Program Kickback Case

Summary

In July 2020, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, part of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, agreed to a $678 million settlement resolving a U.S. civil fraud lawsuit over physician speaker programs. The government alleged that Novartis used tens of thousands of events, including expensive dinners and entertainment, to provide inducements to doctors to prescribe its cardiovascular and diabetes drugs. Novartis made extensive factual admissions, including that some representatives intended honoraria to induce increased prescribing, and agreed to strict restrictions on future speaker programs. Source: U.S. Department of Justice https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/acting-manhattan-us-attorney-announces-678-million-settlement-fraud-lawsuit-against