Novartis likely to face Gilenya bribery allegations again

Novartis has to face the Gilenya bribery allegations again Keystone-SDA

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis will probably have to face up to the allegations of a whistleblower regarding the sale of the multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya. According to Reuters, the 2nd Court of Appeals in Manhattan, New York, made the decision on Friday.

The pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel is accused of making so-called kickback payments to doctors to promote Gilenya to patients. According to the allegation, Novartis violated the federal False Claims Act by holding fictitious lecture events to promote the sale of Gilenya.

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The case was triggered by former Novartis representative Stephen Camburn. He claims that Novartis paid doctors thousands of dollars and invited them to dinners in upscale restaurants to appear at the events. In this way, state health insurers such as Medicare were defrauded, the report continued.

Friday’s decision by the Court of Appeals reversed a September 2022 dismissal of the lawsuit by a US District Court in Manhattan and sent the case back to that court. Camburn had already sued Novartis in May 2013, and his allegations were dismissed by a court for the first time in spring 2020.

Novartis has not yet commented on the latest developments in this whistleblower case. The multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya remains one of the most important sales drivers for Novartis. In 2023, the Group generated global sales of just under one billion US dollars with it, out of total sales of $45.4 billion. However, Gilenya sales have declined significantly compared to previous years.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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