Pfizer to Pay $60 Million to Resolve Charges of Kickbacks to Physicians
Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant, will pay nearly $60 million to resolve charges that a company it acquired, Biohaven, paid kickbacks to physicians to prescribe a specific migraine drug. The scheme, which took place from March 2020 to September 2022, involved Biohaven paying improper remuneration, including speaker honoraria and meals at high-end restaurants, to healthcare professionals to induce them to prescribe the migraine medication Nurtec ODT more often.
The Justice Department announced the settlement, which resolves an August 2021 lawsuit filed by a former Biohaven neuroscience sales specialist. The lawsuit alleged that Biohaven paid kickbacks to physicians to prescribe Nurtec ODT, which is used to treat acute and episodic migraines.
Pfizer acquired Biohaven in October 2022 for $11.5 billion. The company did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the charges. “We are pleased to put this legacy matter behind us, so that we can continue to focus on the needs of patients,” Pfizer said in a statement.
The settlement will see about $8.4 million go to the whistleblower, Patricia Frattasio, and the remaining $51.6 million split between the federal government and state Medicaid programs. The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to sue on behalf of the government and share in recoveries.
The anti-kickback statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce the referral of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and other federal healthcare programs. The statute is intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives.
Pfizer’s Nurtec ODT was approved for treating acute migraine in February 2020 and its approval was extended to preventing episodic migraine in June 2021. The drug was promoted by singer Lady Gaga in 2023, who said she had suffered with migraines since childhood and wished she had found the drug sooner.