Novartis to pay over Rs 5064 crore to settle alleged doctor-bribe, price-fixing claims

Federal authorities alleged that Novartis earned hundreds of millions of dollars in federal reimbursements for selling drugs sold by doctors benefiting from tens of thousands of sham educational events at high-end restaurants and other venues.

With the program, the company paid exorbitant speaker fees to doctors who gave no meaningful presentations while their guests enjoyed fine food and drinks, the government said in court papers.

In settling, Novartis made extensive factual admissions and agreed to strict limitations on any future speaker programs, according to terms of the deal.

William F. Sweeney Jr., head of New York's FBI office, said the company's conduct was "reprehensible and dishonest."

"Not only did Novartis incentivize doctors to host these speaking events, reps bribed the doctors to write more prescriptions of the company's drugs to give Novartis an advantage over competitors within their field," he said.

"Greed replaced the responsibility the public expects from those who practice medicine." Some high-prescribing doctors received tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work as Novartis often reimbursed the same group of doctors, colleagues, and friends who had dinners together repeatedly, the government said.

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