Allergan, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, agreed to pay $600 million to resolve serious criminal and civil fraud allegations of promoting the drug Botox for uses that were not safe nor approved by the FDA. Allergan also paid kickbacks to doctors for off-label use of the drug and taught them how to bill for off-label uses leading to millions of dollars of false claim submissions to federal and state programs.

“Fighting health care fraud is a top priority for the Obama Administration, for Attorney General Eric Holder and for me.”… “These are not victimless crimes. When our public health care programs are burdened with fraudulent charges, it drives the cost of health care up for all of us – consumers pay more in premiums; companies pay more to cover their employees. And when a pharmaceutical manufacturer violates the integrity of the drug approval process established by Congress and the FDA by paying kickbacks to encourage the off-label use of an unapproved drug, that not only undermines the judgments of health care professionals; it also threatens to put patients’ health and safety at risk.”

“Fraudulent marketing of drugs through off-label promotion or kickbacks to prescribers undermines the protections afforded by the drug approval process and medical decision-making. As a result of this settlement, [HHS] OIG will oversee a Corporate Integrity Agreement with Allergan that increases the transparency of Allergan’s interactions with physicians and helps to ensure the company’s future compliance and accountability.”