EMD Serono Inc., an affiliate of Merk KGaA of Germany, has paid $44.3 million and changed its Corporate Integrity Agreement as part of a civil lawsuit settlement related to allegations that the company paid health-care providers to promote its multiple sclerosis drug Rebif.
The False Claims Act allegations date back to January 2002 and run through December 2009. Per a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the allegations put on EMD Serono include payments for speaker training meetings, as well as marketing, consultant and advisory board meetings; False claims on Rebif were then made to federal health-care programs like Medicare and Medicaid, with doctors allegedly getting a kickback from EMD Serono.