Novartis Has a History of Deceptive Sale Practices That Taints Their Credibility

Novartis has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines to the US, EU, Greece, Japan, and Korea for the fraud it has perpetrated on government health care systems around the world

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 - If a pharmaceutical company has a history of making false claims, unethical marketing practices, can the public be expected to believe anything that they claim? Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has been accused of so many wrongdoings that it is difficult for a follower of such things to keep up. Being truthful and honest is of utmost importance when terminally ill patients place their trust and their lives in the hands of the doctor and drug company that is treating their cancer. Novartis AG, the maker of a number of best-selling prescription drugs including anti-leukemia drug Tasigna, has a checkered past, to say the least. The company has been fined billions by governments health agencies in almost every country they operate in. The Swiss company must think that they are above the law when it comes to selling their drugs and that fines and lawsuits are just a cost of doing business. Tasigna complications such as atherosclerosis or peripheral arterial disease may be entitled to compensation through filing Tasigna lawsuits against Novartis.

The US government took exception in 2013 to the business practices of Novartis when Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, filed a civil fraud lawsuits against Novartis alleging the Swiss pharmaceutical company of " paying multimillion-dollar kickbacks to doctors in exchange for prescribing its drugs," according to a blockbuster report in the New York Times. The company is accused of bribing doctors for more than ten years to prescribe Lotrel and Valturna and Starlix to patients in exchange for providing expensive meals, "including a nearly $10,000 dinner for three at the restaurant Nobu, to persuade doctors to prescribe its drugs." Unfortunately, when the prescription of a drug is tainted by bribery, the reimbursement to patients by Medicare and Medicaid is considered fraudulent. Medicaid and Medicare paid millions of dollars to patients based on Novartis' fraudulent representation of the drugs to doctors. Novartis sales reps also paid physicians illegal cash payments for non-existent speaking engagements and public speaking events. These under-the-table payments served to unethically steer doctors to prescribe Novartis' medications. According to the Times, "Novartis corrupted the prescription drug dispensing process," Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement. "For its investment, Novartis reaped dramatically increased profits on these drugs, and Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs were left holding the bag."

The charges eventually resulted in a $1 billion fine levied against Novartis by the US Department of Justice, in which the company settled by paying $390 million. Government whistleblower David Kester initiated the charges in 2011 and by 2013 was joined by the Department of Justice. Kesters, a former Novartis sales manager himself, filed the claim under the False Claims Act that encourages non-government employees to file a civil suit on behalf of the government. As a reward for saving US taxpayers millions of dollars, Kester and others involved were awarded a percentage of the settlement thought to be in excess of $25 million.

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OnderLaw, LLC is a St. Louis personal injury law firm handling serious injury and death claims across the country. Its mission is the pursuit of justice, no matter how complex the case or strenuous the effort. The Onder Law Firm has represented clients throughout the United States in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation such as Pradaxa, Lexapro and Yasmin/Yaz, where the firm's attorneys held significant leadership roles in the litigation, as well as Actos, DePuy, Risperdal and others. The Onder Law Firm has won more than $300 million in four talcum powder ovarian cancer lawsuits in St. Louis. Law firms throughout the nation often seek its experience and expertise on complex litigation.