Medtronic settles whistleblower case for $9.9 million

Suit accused the medical device maker of giving doctors gifts in return for using its products. Elsewhere, a federal judge denied dismissal of a lawsuit against Novartis alleging a kickback campaign to boost its drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

The Associated Press: Medtronic Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit For $9.9M
Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. will pay the U.S. Department of Justice $9.9 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of giving doctors gifts in return for using its defibrillators and pacemakers. Medtronic has not admitted any wrongdoing as a result of the settlement. The lawsuit unsealed this week accused Medtronic of funneling "millions of dollars in unrestricted grant money to physicians" to get them to encourage the use of Medtronic defibrillators and pacemakers (5/29).

Reuters:  Novartis Must Face U.S. Government Lawsuit Alleging Drug Kickbacks
A federal judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a U.S. government lawsuit accusing Novartis AG of civil fraud for having conducted two illegal kickback schemes to boost sales of drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid. U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan rejected the argument by the Swiss drugmaker's Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp unit that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the government had failed to show how it had been defrauded (Stempel, 5/29).