Whistleblower backlog may start clearing

Lawmakers and not-for-profit groups are pushing the feds to help clear a backlog of some 900 whistleblower lawsuits--and a sizable number of those were filed against drugmakers, the Washington Post reports.

You know the type: Consider the Merck case, which the drugmaker paid $650 to settle; it alleged that the company failed to repay Medicaid rebates. Then there was the $515 million Bristol-Myers Squibb deal, which settled claims of illegal marketing and pricing. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) is among those calling for the Department of Justice to make these investigations a priority. Whether that means we'll see more pharma settlements--well, we'll just have to wait and see.

- read the WP story

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