Prescription drugs

April 7, 2008 -- ALLENTOWN - Fifteen suspected drug dealers and users were charged today by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office with passing fraudulent prescriptions, illegally distributing Percocet and exchanging heroin for prescription drugs.

Pennsylvania prescription drug ring

Attorney General Tom Corbett said the investigation, known as "Operation Bad Scripts," began in January 2008 and focused on the illegal prescription distribution ring of Melinda Miller, 26, 318 Johnsonville Road, Bangor, Northampton County.

Opr Bad Scripts chartEvidence and testimony regarding the case was presented to a statewide investigating grand jury, which recommended the criminal charges being filed today.    » read more »

April 2, 2008 -- "The full results of the study released today, showing that Vytorin had no effect on heart disease, put the lie to Merck and Schering-Plough’s $200 million advertising campaign urging Americans to take this drug.

While these corporations profited, Americans were left in the dark. The millions who take this drug, taxpayers who subsidize its use through the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and Merck and Schering-Plough’s investors deserve to know why it took so long for the results to be made public.

This new information underscores our concerns and advances our investigation, which we will pursue aggressively."

Source: New York Attorney General

March 28, 2008 -- Jefferson City, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon today distributed $153,344 in technology grants to 49 organizations throughout Missouri to help them link seniors and low-income residents with free or low-cost prescription drugs. The grants will help organizations obtain the necessary computer software, hardware and training to connect Missourians with almost 200 drug distribution programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.    » read more »

March 18, 2008 -- Jefferson City, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon was joined by 17 other states and the District of Columbia today in filing a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies Abbott Laboratories and Fournier. The lawsuit alleges that the companies conspired to violate antitrust laws in delaying the availability of a cheaper, generic version of the cholesterol drug TriCor. TriCor accounted for over one billion dollars in sales for Abbott one year ago.    » read more »

Massachusetts Leads Investigation Resulting in $36.7 Million Settlement with the U.S. Government, 23 States and the District of Columbia

March 18, 2008 -- BOSTON – Today, the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, along with federal authorities, 23 other states, and the District of Columbia, entered into a settlement agreement with CVS/Caremark Corporation to settle allegations of billing improprieties.    » read more »

BALTIMORE, MD (March 18, 2008) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today filed suit against Abbott Laboratories and French drug company Fournier Industrie et Sante alleging that the firms violated state and federal antitrust laws by delaying the availability of cheaper, generic versions of TriCor, a cholesterol drug which last year accounted for over one billion dollars of Abbott’s sales.    » read more »

CVS/Caremark to Pay More Than $800,000 to Maryland’s Medicaid Program

BALTIMORE, MD (March 18, 2008) – Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced a $36.7 million federal and multistate settlement with CVS/Caremark Corporation to resolve allegations of improper billing. The payment, of which Maryland’s Medicaid Program will receive $830,490, resolves claims that CVS violated state and federal statutes and regulations by switching dosage forms of ranitidine, an antacid medication commonly prescribed for Medicaid patients.    » read more »

March 18, 2008 -- Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced today that Kentucky will receive a $1.36 million settlement from CVS Caremark Corporation for defrauding the state Medicaid program.    » read more »

March 18, 2008 -- (INDIANAPOLIS, IN) - CVS/Caremark Corporation has agreed to pay $1,406,120 to the Indiana Medicaid Program to settle allegations of improper billing announced Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter today. The payment is part of a $36.7 million settlement with the United States, 23 states and the District of Columbia and resolves claims that CVS pharmacies systemically switched the dosage form of ranitidine from tablet-form to the capsule-form of the drug. The CVS will repay Indiana $513,962 for the state’s share of the Medicaid loss.    » read more »

Nationwide settlement addresses dosage switching of generic antacid

March 18, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced today that the Florida Medicaid program will receive more than $186,000 from a $36.7 million multistate settlement with CVS and Caremark Corporation. The settlement with the United States, 23 states and the District of Columbia resolves allegations that CVS violated various state and federal statutes and regulations by switching dosage forms of an antacid medication commonly prescribed for Medicaid patients.    » read more »

Abbott and French drug company face allegations they blocked generic versions of a cholesterol drug

March 18, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that Florida and 18 states have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories and French drug company Fournier Industrie et Sante and Laboratories Fournier, S.A., charging the companies with blocking a cheaper, generic version of prescription drug TriCor.    » read more »

March 18, 2008 -- LOS ANGELES -- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today sued Abbott Laboratories and French drug company Fournier for devising “an elaborate scheme” to block less expensive generic versions of TriCor, a drug that controls cholesterol.    » read more »

Biden: “This is a national problem that is going to require a coordinated, national solution.”

March 12, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Today U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Drugs and Caucus on International Narcotics Control, held a joint hearing entitled “Generation Rx: The Abuse of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Drugs.” The hearing focused on the alarming trends associated with abuse rates of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and the need to robustly fund drug education and prevention programs.    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- Jefferson City, Mo. — Organizations wanting to link Missouri seniors and low-income residents with programs that offer free or low-cost prescription drugs have until March 21 to apply for technology grants from the office of Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon. Last month, Nixon announced that his office would make available $630,000 to help coordinate the prescription drug needs of hundreds of thousands of Missourians with nearly 200 free and reduced-cost drug programs offered by manufacturers. The grant money comes from a settlement Nixon reached on Feb.    » read more »

March 5, 2008 -- According to a report released today by AARP, pharmaceutical companies have substantially raised prices on 220 brand name prescription drugs most commonly used by people in Medicare Part D since the implementation of the drug benefit in 2006.

AARP has studied drug prices since 2002 and reported the findings in a series of Watchdog reports. Today’s report expands on the series by focusing its analysis on those brand prescription drugs most widely used by people enrolled in Medicare Part D.    » read more »