Abbott Labs Probed Over Depakote Marketing
5 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // November 6th, 2009 // 12:55 pm
As they say: another day, another probe into a drugmaker. The latest - the US Department of Justice is investigating Abbott’s sales and marketing activities of the pill, which is used to treat bipolar disorder, seizures and migraines, according to its quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for Depakote.
The government wants to know whether the drugmaker violated civil and/or criminal laws, including the Federal False Claims Act, the Food and Drug Cosmetic Act, and the Anti-Kickback Statute in connection with Medicare and/or Medicaid reimbursement to third parties.
An Abbott spokeswoman tells Dow Jones that the drugmaker is cooperating, but declined further comment. And a spokesman for the US Attorney in the Western District of Virginia, which is handling the proble, couldn’t immediately be reached, the news service writes. Deprakote sales fell 70 percent $354 million for the first nine months of 2009 due to generic rivals, according to Dow Jones.
Lisa Van Syckel
This drug brings up some haunting memories…
fro
nothing new for Abbott. They were under a lot of legal pressure for Lupron (back then, they were TAP pharmaceuticals).
Batman
Yep, One of the most crooked companies out there. How many times have they been caught engaging in fraud. Anyone? Its a few. And sadly it is not over.
Costello
Sad to agree that Abbott has a more sordid history than most of the other large pharma companies. After the Lupron scandal, they signe corporate integrity agreements just as Pfizer did after Neurontin. Unfortunately, we recently learned how little they meant for Pfizer. Let’s hope Abbott does not become the next example.
Evelyn Pringle
I can’t help but notice that all these drug company busts have conveniently come long after the drugs in question have made all their money.