• Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • NWC Supporters Directory
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
Whistleblower Network News
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • NWC Supporters Directory
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home False Claims-Qui Tam

Whistleblower Tip Results in $7.9 Million Settlement with Pharmaceutical Company

Ana PopovichbyAna Popovich
September 19, 2022
in False Claims-Qui Tam
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Photo of a variety of medicines: spray bottles, pills, droppers
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

On September 15, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit led to a $7.9 million settlement with Akorn Operating Company LLC, a pharmaceutical company. Akorn settled claims “that it caused the submission of false claims to Medicare Part D, in violation of the False Claims Act, for three generic drugs that were no longer eligible for Medicare coverage.” The whistleblower in the case will receive a $946,000 award for their role in the case.

The qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act enable private citizens to file lawsuits on behalf of the government if they know of an individual or company defrauding the government. Qui tam whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 15 and 30% of the government’s recovery, if one occurs. In this case, the U.S. government intervened in the whistleblower’s case and conducted the investigation.

According to the press release, Medicare Part D reimburses “FDA-approved ‘prescription only’ (Rx-only) drugs” but not “over the counter” (OTC) drugs. OTC drugs “may be purchased by retail customers without a prescription and are not reimbursed by Medicare Part D.” The DOJ explains that a company can “seek to fully convert a brand-name Rx-only drug to an OTC drug” if the FDA approves the switch. After the FDA approves the change, “the drug is no longer considered an Rx-only product and makers of generic equivalents are then required either to seek FDA approval for their own OTC switch or to seek withdrawal of their generic’s Rx-only approval and cease marketing it.”

Support Whistleblower Network News

Akorn sold three generic drugs during the time period referenced in the case: a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory cream, an antihistamine eyedrop, and an antihistamine nasal spray. Since June 2021, the FDA “approved a full Rx-to-OTC conversion of the brand names for each of the three drugs. The U.S. “ alleged that Akorn submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to Medicare Part D, in violation of the False Claims Act, by continuing to sell the Akorn Generics under obsolete Rx-only labeling after the brand-name drugs were converted to OTC products.”

Akorn “admitted and accepted responsibility” for several facts as part of the settlement, one of which is that the company “delayed the Akorn Generics losing their Rx-only labeling because it believed that continuing to sell each as purportedly Rx-only would be more profitable for the company.”

The DOJ did not provide many details about the qui tam whistleblower in the case, only that the individual will receive $946,000.

Whistleblowers are critical to uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse in the medical and health care industry: fraudulent schemes can be particularly harmful to patients and erode trust in the medical system. In Fiscal Year 2021, qui tam whistleblowers helped the DOJ recover $1.6 billion in settlements. The DOJ highlighted health care fraud as “the leading source of the department’s False Claims Act settlements and judgments.”

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who has been consistently championed as the “patron saint” of whistleblowers, proposed amendments to the False Claims Act in 2021 that would strengthen protections for whistleblowers and clarify existing law. The amendment was widely supported by whistleblower organizations and advocates. However, WNN sources discovered that the pharmaceutical lobby intervened with the amendment’s passage. The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is urging Congress to protect the False Claims Act: learn more here.

Read the DOJ press release here. 

Read more False Claims Act/qui tam coverage on WNN. 

Tags: False Claims / Qui TamFalse Claims ActFalse Claims/Qui TamQui Tamqui tam whistleblowers
Previous Post

A Company “Driven By Crises” — Twitter Whistleblower Peiter Zatko Testifies Before Senate Committee

Next Post

Linda Lewis, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Ana Popovich

Ana Popovich

Ana Popovich is a contributing editor with Whistleblower Network News, where she writes about breaking whistleblower news, healthcare fraud whistleblowers, and Covid-19 fraud whistleblowers. Ana has a B.A. in English from Georgetown University. While at Georgetown, she was the marketing chair of an affinity group and wrote content for the McDonough School of Business’ Business for Impact program. In 2018, Popovich was a public interest legal intern at the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto. 

Next Post
Courtesy of Linda Lewis

Linda Lewis, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

Switzerland Seeks to Prosecute Suisse Secrets Whistleblower

Online Course Aims to Improve Collaboration Between Anti-Corruption Officers and Whistleblowers

SEC Charges Activision With Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule

SEC Accepting Whistleblower Award Claims for FCPA Bribery Cases

“I couldn’t go along with it any longer.” — WNN Exclusive Interview with Matthew Hoh

SEC Awards $1 Million to Whistleblower Who Caused Opening of Investigation

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • The Whistleblowers Handbook
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2021, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook
  • National Whistleblower Day ’23

Copyright © 2020, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN

Add New Playlist

Go to mobile version