Maine Settles Legal Claims Against Rx Company

July 16, 2008

Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe announced that Maine has joined 42 other states and the federal government in settling Medicaid legal claims against Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and its former wholly owned subsidiary Apothecon, Inc.

The total settlement amount that will be paid to the states and the federal government is $389 million. The State of Maine will receive $829,862 from the settlement. This amount will be paid to the Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of MaineCare, the State?s Medicaid program.

?It is sad that prescription drug companies continue to game the Medicaid system to unfairly increase their profits at the expense of Maine taxpayers. The conduct of Bristol-Myers Squibb and its subsidiary was reprehensible,? said Attorney General Steve Rowe.

As a result of the state and federal investigation into the conduct of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Apothecon, state and federal authorities found that the companies engaged in illegal conduct to include:

  • Reporting inflated prices for various prescription drugs knowing that MaineCare 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 had 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

As part of the settlement, BMS has also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under which BMS will be required to report accurately its average sales prices and average manufacturers prices in the future.

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July 16, 2008 Michael Miller (207) 626-8891