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AbbVie has been sued by the California Department of Insurance for orchestrating an extensive bribe program aimed at illegally increasing prescriptions for its best-selling arthritis drug, Humira, according to a statement. STAT Information Bulletin.
The lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court on September 18 accused AbbVie of illegally offering money, meals, travel, drinks and referrals to doctors to encourage them to write new prescriptions.
The complaint also alleges that the drug manufacturer has engaged in a more malicious practice of using an extensive network of nurse ambassadors to ensure that prescriptions are regularly met. According to the lawsuit, the registered nurses hired by AbbVie to visit home patients and help administer the drug were instead used to stimulate renewals and minimize the potential risks associated with the drug.
Approximately 274,000 claims for Humira prescriptions were submitted to insurers from 2013 to 2018. This represented approximately $ 1.2 billion for fraudulent claims, making it the largest health insurance fraud case in the world. the to the complaint.
"AbbVie has spent millions convincing patients and healthcare professionals that AbbVie ambassadors were patient advocates – in fact, ambassadors have been hired to do one thing: keep patients on dangerous drugs at all costs", said Dave Jones. "In this case, patient care was exchanged for $ 1.2 billion of ill-gotten gains."
The allegations were brought to the attention of the insurance department by Lazaro Suarez, who was working as AbbVie's ambassador in Florida.
Humira is a star drug for AbbVie that treats rheumatoid arthritis. It generated $ 12.3 billion in sales in the United States last year.
After news of the lawsuit was rescinded on Sept. 18, AbbVie's shares fell by nearly 3%.
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