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SAN FRANCISCO – Drug giant AbbVie has illegally hired doctors with money, gifts and services to prescribe one of the world's best-selling drugs, Humira, despite life-threatening complications.
The lawsuit filed by the State Insurance Commissioner accuses the company of a large bribe program that has led doctors to draft more prescriptions for drugs, starting their relationship with patients and increasing their insurance costs. Humira was prescribed to patients because of the bribes provided by AbbVie and not because it was the best medicine to treat them, said California Commissioner Dave Jones at a conference call announcing the trial.
"In the end, AbbVie has focused on the health and safety of thousands of Californians, including children, by ensuring that patients continue to take Humira at all costs to protect their profits and not the health and well being -being patients. .
Humira is a widely advertised injectable medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. It is accompanied by a warning for cancer and serious infections that can become life threatening. According to the lawsuit, sales exceeded $ 12 billion in 2017.
Jones said insurance companies paid over $ 1.2 billion to Humira for thousands of Californian patients between 2013 and August 2018. This figure makes the case the largest case of fraud in the history of the department. insurance, according to Jones' office.
AbbVie, who faces billions of dollars in penalties, said the allegations were "baseless".
"AbbVie operates in accordance with the many national and federal laws that govern interactions with healthcare providers and patients," the company's press release said.
According to the lawsuit, AbbVie paid doctors for meals, drinks and trips to ask them to write more prescriptions for Humira. The lawsuit also included nurses that the company sent home to patients taking the drug, according to the lawsuit.
Nurses saved doctors money by processing documents and other tasks that normally belonged to doctors' offices. According to Jones and the trial, they were presented as extensions of the doctors' offices, but they actually prevented patients from reporting their concerns about Humira to doctors and minimized the risks associated with the drug.
"If the choice is given between two drugs, one with nurses and administrative staff free and the other that requires professional wages, the provider can only contribute to the substantial decline in nursing care in their calculation. "Says the trial.
AbbVie stated that the nurse and other support services that she offers patients to help them follow their therapy and "do not replace or interfere in any way the interactions between patients and their health care providers. "
The state trial is based on the allegations of a registered nurse who worked for AbbVie. The nurse is also a party to the lawsuit.
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