Drug company to pay $95 million in whistleblower settlement
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve allegations it improperly marketed its stroke-prevention drug Aggrenox, the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drugs Atrovent and Combivent and the hypertension drug Micardis, the Justice Department announced Thursday.The settlement resolves a False Claims Act lawsuit filed in a Maryland federal court by Robert Heiden, a former sales representative for Boehringer. The Connecticut-based company allegedly promoted each of the drugs for uses that were not medically accepted indications and were not covered by federal health care programs. As a result of the settlement, the federal government will receive $78.46 million and state Medicaid programs will obtain $16.54 million.