Novartis has agreed to pay $390 million to settle allegations that it gave discounts or rebates to specialty pharmacies to increase prescriptions of its drugs.  Three other companies–BioScrip, Accredo Health Group, and Express Scripts–have already paid a collective $75 million to settle related allegations.  In settling its case, BioScrip had agreed to provide the government with information about its arrangement with Novartis.

The final terms of the Novartis deal have not yet been hammered out, which may account for the confusion surrounding some aspects of the agreement.  When the settlement was first announced, Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez reportedly stated “We’re not admitting liability, it’s something we just believe we want to put behind us,” adding “We continue to maintain that specialty pharmacies must continue to play a role in ensuring patient adherence….How that’s going to play out as to whether we change our behavior or not remains to be seen.”  However, the company issued an official press release later in the day stating that such statements “did not accurately reflect [Novartis’] position and the seriousness of the Company’s commitment to working with the government to ensure our behaviors and interactions with specialty pharmacies meet the highest ethical standards.”  The release emphasized that Novartis would make “detailed admissions of fact” as part of the final settlement, and that the company did not intend to suggest that it was not “addressing the Government’s concerns or the particular issues on which the litigation focused.”

Read the FiercePharma article: Novartis shells out $390M to settle specialty pharmacy kickback claims

Read the Corporate Crime Reporter article: Novartis to Pay $390 Million to Settle False Claims Whistleblower Case

Read the Novartis Press Release: Novartis Clarification on Specialty Pharmacy Settlement in Principle Announcement