Ex-Novartis Salesmanager Blows The Whistle On Illegal Drug Marketing
Whistleblower lawsuit against Novartis helps to shed light on the lengths drug companies go to sell their product
Monday, November 13, 2017 - Not only is Swiss Pharmaceutical company Novartis under fire for failing to warn the American cancer community of the atherosclerosis risks of its drug Tasigna, it also has been the target of an investigation pertaining to illegally marketing and prescribing the anti-cancer drug. As a result of paying pharmacists illegal cash incentives to refill Gleevec prescriptions with Tasigna, Novartis AG was forced to pay $390 million to the federal government to settle a $3.35 billion dollar suit brought by the U.S. During the years 2007 and 2012, marketing representatives from Novartis made payments to specialty pharmacies offering them incentives to steer their Medicare and Medicaid patients towards the more profitable, expensive and dangerous drug Tasigna. Tasigna has been the target of lawsuits recently alleging that cancer patients taking the drug were not warned that they may develop atherosclerosis as a common side effect. In addition to paying the fine Novartis agreed to admit the details of how the alleged fraudulent scheme worked.
The nature of the scheme targeted specialty pharmacies. A specialty pharmacy differs from a typical retail pharmacy by selling drugs that are more costly and more toxic, typically for patients with life-threatening illnesses like cancer, and drugs that require special handling. The specialty medications in question include the oncology medications Exjade, Gleevec and Tasigna.
Novartis created a network of specialty pharmacies asking pharmacists to sell Novartis drugs over competitors and to downplay the Novartis drug's side effects. Novartis ran contests for the pharmacies and kept score to see who could keep their patients on Novartis drugs for the longest time. It is illegal for doctors and pharmacists to engage in incentive programs and profit from recommending one drug over another based on financial reward. Doing so can cause a patient to order a drug that is unnecessary or unsuitable to treat their condition and could lead to injury and potentially death.
Novartis' illegal marketing and kickback scheme was exposed to the public when company employee turned whistleblower, former Novartis sales manager David M. Kestner sued Novartis under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act encourages employees of corporations to come forward with insider information about illegal corporate activities. After reviewing Kester's story, an 18-month investigation ensued and Kester and his attorneys worked alongside government attorneys to investigate and litigate the allegations. The action brought by Kester resulted in over $400 million in total recovery to the U.S. taxpayer and resulted in Kester winning the "Whistleblower of the Year" Award in 2016 presented by the non-profit, public interest organization Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund. As a result of the investigation and lawsuit cancer patients have become more aware that there are safer, less expensive alternatives to Tasigna on the market and have been alerted to Tasigna's dangerous atherosclerosis side effects.
Novartis still faces hundreds of Tasigna lawsuits stemming from the side effects experienced by patients using the drug, most of which experienced severe atherosclerosis.
More Recent Tasigna Atherosclerosis Lawsuit News:
- Tasigna Patients Are Warned of The Risk of Sudden Death | 5/13/2019
- Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Risk Is Well-Documented By Researchers For Peer-Reviewed Medical Publications | 5/8/2019
- Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Side Effect Is Not Forgotten | 4/17/2019
- Trying Tasigna As A Last Resort May Make Sense To Terminally Ill Cancer Patients | 4/12/2019
- Novartis Claim Tasigna Can Help Parkinson's Patients is Met With Skepticism | 4/4/2019
- Novartis Failed To Warn American Doctors Who In Turn Failed To Warn Patients of Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Risks | 3/20/2019
- Tasigna Is Being Repurposed To Treat Parkinson's Disease | 3/14/2019
- Some Patient Can Cease Taking Tasigna But They May Have Already Developed Atherosclerosis | 3/12/2019
- Health Experts Warn of Potentially Deadly Tasigna Drug Interactions | 3/5/2019
- The Potential To Someday Stop Tasigna Treatments Should Not Be An Incentive To Take The Drug | 2/28/2019
- Tasigna Studies Show The Drug Should Be Taken As A Last Resort | 2/24/2019
- Cancer Doctors and Medical Websites Should Take Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Risks More Seriously | 2/18/2019
- The FDA May Be Putting Children's Lives In Danger By Ignoring Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Risk | 2/12/2019
- The FDA May Have Overlooked Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Side Effect When Approving its Usage by Children | 2/5/2019
- Children With Cancer May Now Start Taking Tasigna | 1/31/2019
- Studies Reported by Leading Experts Focus on Tasigna Toxicity | 1/25/2019
- Novartis Has a History of Deceptive Sale Practices That Taints Their Credibility | 1/22/2019
- Novartis Changes Tasigna's Label But Not Its Toxicity | 1/16/2019
- Tasigna Doctors May Be Ignoring Atherosclerosis Risks | 1/11/2019
- Cancer Doctors Prescribing Tasigna Should Be Trained Like Heart Specialists | 1/8/2019
- Tasigna is Effective in Treating Chronic Myeloid Leukemia | 1/1/2019
- Early Warning Signs of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) | 12/5/2018
- CML Patients in Remission May Discontinue Taking Tasigna | 12/1/2018
- Tasigna's Atherosclerosis Warnings is Rarely Seen by Cancer Patients | 11/28/2018
- Novartis' Failure to Warn the FDA May Have Led to Atherosclerosis in As Many As One in Four Tasigna Patients | 11/12/2018
- Novartis Highlights Tasigna's Effectiveness yet Downplays The Drug's Deadly Side Effects | 11/8/2018
- Novartis Takes Advantage of Tasigna's Catch 22 | 10/30/2018
- Tasigna Atherosclerosis Ignored by Novartis Celebrity Spokesperson | 10/24/2018
- Oncologists May Be Ignoring the Cardiovascular Side Effects of Tasigna | 10/16/2018
- The FDA Atherosclerosis Warning Came Too Late for Tasigna Patients in the United States | 10/8/2018
- One-Third of Tasigna Patients Could Face Coronary Bypass Surgery | 10/4/2018
- Billion Dollar Fines Are Just a Cost of Doing Business For Novartis | 10/2/2018
- Cancer Patients Should View Novartis' New Tasigna Label With Scepticism | 9/28/2018
- Novartis Boasts of Tasigna's Effectiveness While Ignoring the Atherosclerosis Side Effects | 9/27/2018
- Tasigna May Be One Of The Most Deadly Drugs On The Market Today | 9/25/2018
- NBA Star's Arterial Blockage May Have Been Caused by Taking Tasigna | 9/22/2018
- Taxpayers Saved Billions By Novartis AG Whistleblower | 9/20/2018
- Tasigna Carries The Unacceptable Risk of Developing Atherosclerosis and Amputation | 9/19/2018
- Tasigna's Cancer-Fighting Success May Be Tempered By The Risk Of Sudden Death | 9/17/2018
- Novartis Pulled No Punches In Warning Canadians About The Atherosclerosis Related Side effects Of Tasigna Yet Said Nothing To Warn Cancer Patients In The United States. | 9/11/2018
- Novartis is a Repeat Offender for Fraudulent Drug Marketing | 8/29/2018
- Peripheral Artery Disease Plagues Tasigna Patients | 8/27/2018
- Patients Could Have Benefited From Gleevec's Generic Alternative | 8/21/2018
- Novartis/Tasigna Lawsuit May Seek Punitive Damages | 8/17/2018
- Tasigna Atherosclerosis Trial Set to Proceed | 8/14/2018
- Medical Websites Ignore Tasigna's Risks | 8/10/2018
- Novartis haste in rushing Tasigna to market has cost patients their lives | 8/8/2018
- Tasigna's Side Effects Require Special Attention From Prospective Patients | 8/6/2018
- Novartis Whistleblower Receives $12 Million For His Efforts | 7/31/2018
- Tasigna Atherosclerosis Hidden From Americans | 7/30/2018
- Gleevec Was a Cancer-Curing Miracle Drug | 7/26/2018
- Tasigna Stroke Victim's Trial to Proceed in Florida | 7/24/2018
- Novartis Employee Blows Whistle on Tasigna Fraud and Others | 7/20/2018
- Tasigna Side Effects Are Worse Than Cancer | 7/18/2018
- Tasigna Cancer Medication Carries More Risks Than Others | 7/11/2018
- Specialty Pharmacists Bribed to Prescribe Tasigna | 7/6/2018
- Novartis Billion-Dollar Fine for Fraudulent Marketing Tactics | 7/2/2018
- Tasigna Black Box Warning Addendum | 6/29/2018
- Tasigna Replaced Gleevec and Patients Suffered | 6/25/2018
- Specialty Pharmacists Selling Tasigna Compromised Ethical Standards | 6/20/2018
- US Department of Justice Fines Novartis One Billion Dollars | 6/13/2018
- Tasigna Sudden Death Warning | 6/11/2018
- Tasigna Cancer Treatment Poses Scary Risks | 6/7/2018
- Novartis Fraudulent Marketing Deception | 5/29/2018
- Tasigna Atherosclerosis Warning Never Made it to the US | 5/25/2018
- Novartis Tasigna Anti-Cancer Drug Has Side Effects That Include Sudden Death | 5/22/2018
- Tasigna Replaced Gleevec Under Fraudulent Circumstance | 5/18/2018
- Novartis Held Accountable For Concealing Tasigna Atherosclerosis Risk | 5/15/2018
- Tasigna Chemotherapy Carries a Sudden Death Warning | 5/10/2018
- Novartis Warns That Tasigna Can Cause Atherosclerosis | 5/6/2018
- Tasigna Poses Atherosclerosis Amputations Risk | 5/3/2018
- Tasigna Rushed to Market to Replace Gleevec | 12/29/2017
- Whistleblower Saves American Taxpayers Millions | 12/22/2017
- Gleevec-the Novartis AG Wonder Drug | 12/20/2017
- Tasigna Warnings | 12/18/2017
- Tasignas Black Box Warning Links The Drug To Atherosclerosis | 12/15/2017
- Novartis Fails To Warn The U.S. Medical Community About The Side Effects of Tasigna | 12/11/2017
- Tasigna Replaces Gleevec as the Novartis AGs Signature Anti-Cancer Chemotherapy Drug | 12/6/2017
- The Unmistakable Signs of Peripheral Artery Disease | 12/1/2017
- Whistleblower Causes Public Alert to Tasigna Side Effects | 11/27/2017
- The Estate of a California Man is Suing Novartis | 11/20/2017
- U.S. Cancer Patients Receive Tasigna Atherosclerosis Warning | 11/6/2017
- Novartis Marketed Tasigna to Replace Gleevec | 11/3/2017
- Leukemia Patients May Suffer From Heart Disease as Well | 10/30/2017
- Novartis' Potentially Misleading Drug Marketing Campaign | 10/23/2017
- Health Canada Issued a Tasigna Health Warning In 2013 | 10/16/2017
- Lawsuits Allege Novartis Was Aware of The Side Effects of Tasigna Yet Failed to Warn The American Public | 10/9/2017
- Tasigna Chemotherapy Atherosclerosis-related Side Effects | 10/2/2017
- The Onder Law Firm Seeks to Hold Novartis Accountable for the Suffering Tasigna Has Caused Families | 9/29/2017
- Novartis Fails to Warn About Tasigna Atherosclerosis | 9/22/2017
- Side Effects of Tasigna Cancer Drug Include Atherosclerosis and Peripheral Artery Disease | 9/15/2017
- Novartis Put Profits Ahead of Patients | 9/7/2017
- Novartis Failed to Warn the American Medical Community of the Side Effects of Tasigna | 9/1/2017
- Atherosclerosis Linked to Tasigna Anti Cancer Drug | 8/18/2017
- You Can Sue Novartis If You Have Developed Atherosclerosis-Related Conditions After Taking Tasigna | 8/11/2017
- Who Can Be Considered A Tasigna Victim | 8/4/2017
- Novartis AG makers of Tasigna Failed to Warn Public of the Dangerous Side Effects | 7/14/2017
- Tasigna Anti Cancer Drug Lawsuit | 7/7/2017
- Tasigna Drug Warning for Peripheral Arterial Disease | 6/30/2017
- Tasigna Cancer Treatment Drug Lawsuit | 6/26/2017
- Novartis International AG Lawsuits | 6/23/2017
- Lawsuits Against Novartis International AG Makers of Tasigna | 6/21/2017
- Tasigna Peripheral Artery Disease Warning | 6/19/2017
- Tasigna Lawsuits Against Drug Makers Novartis | 6/16/2017
- Atherosclerosis of the Aorta Linked to Tasigna Anti-Cancer Drug | 6/12/2017
- Makers of Tasigna Leukemia Drug Lawsuit | 6/9/2017
- Tasigna a Cancer Drug Treatment | 6/5/2017
- Tasigna Peripheral Arterial Disease | 6/1/2017
Lawyers for Tasigna Atherosclerosis Lawsuits
Attorneys handling Tasigna lawsuits for leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma offer free, no-obligation case review for individuals and families who believe they may have grounds to file a Tasigna lawsuit. Working on a contingency basis, these attorneys are committed to never charging legal fees unless they win compensation in your Tasigna lawsuit. The product liability litigators handling Roundup claims at the Onder Law Firm have a strong track record of success in representing families harmed by dangerous drugs and consumer products.