The U.S. Attorney in Boston accuses Boehringer-Ingelheim’s Roxane generics unit of reporting fraudulent and inflated prices that, in some cases, were more than 1,000 percent higher than the actual sales price.

The U.S. alleges that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursed BI’s customers in excess of $500 million. “Fraudulent pricing practices in the pharmaceutical industry have provided illicit profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers and providers at the expense of the taxpayer,” says Peter D. Keisler, assistant attorney general for the civil division.

Known as a qui tam lawsuit, it was filed in the U.S. District Court in Boston, which has pressed other drugmakers, such as Pfizer and Schering-Plough. In the scheme of things, such lawsuits and subsequent fines - however many hundreds of millions of dollars are involved - are seen as part of the cost of doing business.

But the screaming headlines don’t do much for the industry’s image, do they? Drug companies should keep that in mind the next time they start to complain about negative perceptions.

[tags]Boehringer Ingelheim, Department of Justice, Pfizer, Schering-Plough[/tags]