McDaniel settles with Bristol-Myers Squibb

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced a settlement today with Bristol-Myers Squibb that will return $1.3 million to the Arkansas Medicaid program. The settlement resolves allegations of illegal drug marketing and pricing of prescription medications paid by the participating states’ Medicaid programs totaling $389 million plus interest. The federal portion of the settlement was concluded last fall. The settlement addresses allegations that BMS engaged in a number of improper marketing and pricing practices, including:

-Reporting inflated prices for various prescription drugs knowing that Medicaid and various federal health care programs would use these reported prices to pay for BMS and Apothecon products used by their recipients;

-Paying illegal remuneration to physicians, health care providers, and pharmacies to induce them to purchase BMS and Apothecon products;

-Promoting the sale and use of Abilify, an antipsychotic drug, for pediatric use and for treatment of dementia-related psychosis, uses which the federal Food and Drug Administration has not approved; and

-Misreporting sales prices for Serzone, an antidepressant, resulting in the improper reduction of the amount of rebates paid to the state Medicaid programs.

“While this is a good result and a step forward, there is no doubt that others have, and continue to be, engaged in similar conduct," said McDaniel. "Accordingly, I remain committed to investigating and redressing such behavior so as to ensure that Arkansans are being prescribed medication based on need, not on monetary favors, and to preserve the precious assets of our Medicaid program.”